


Generations

by Isa_Iadel



Series: From Here On [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, M/M, Stiles is the Sheriff, The Hale house burns, all the feelings, everyone is keeping secrets from Stiles, lots of magic, stiles is a witch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-03
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-28 07:26:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/989350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isa_Iadel/pseuds/Isa_Iadel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles Stilinski hasn't been Sheriff for very long and dealing with the aftermath of the attack against the Hales ends up being far more complicated than he ever could have imagined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Поколения](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3964357) by [Black_Mamba](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_Mamba/pseuds/Black_Mamba)



> Do not reproduce

**Generations**

**Part One**

            As a child, Stiles Stilinski had long lamented that nothing ever happened in Beacon Hills.  Considering that it had long been something of a hub for paranormal creatures, one would think it would be a very exciting place to live.  But due to the fierce protectiveness of the Hale family and the almost universal reluctance to annoy a witching family as magically powerful as the Stilinski’s, no one ever dared to cause any kind of actual problems in the territory.  When he took his father’s place as Sheriff of the town, the biggest problem Stiles ever had to deal with was bored teenagers shoplifting and impatient commuters speeding.

            The group of anxious looking teenagers in front of him was nothing new, and though Stiles actually wanted to laugh at their antics, he somehow managed to deliver his lecture on why it wasn’t okay to toilet paper someone’s house with a mostly straight face.

            “But Sheriff,” one of the older kids objected, “Mr. Harris is such a jerk!!  He hates everyone and his class is hell.  And he’s been even worse than usual this week, like on the verge of a total meltdown.  Today he gave Jackie a detention for breathing too loudly!”

            Stiles failed to fully clamp down on his grin at that, although that did sound a little extreme even for Harris, “Yeah, I know.  I was in his class when I was in high school.  But come on,” he held up a roll of toilet paper.  “This was the best thing you could think of?  Seriously?  At least be creative.”

            “Does this mean you aren’t going to tell him it was us?” One of the teenagers asked hopefully.

            Stiles tapped his chin thoughtfully, “Well…Tell you what…you get all this cleaned up before he gets home and promise to volunteer at the May Festival and we’ll have a deal.”

            He lingered long enough to watch them begin to clean up the mess of toilet paper before heading back to his cruiser.  Hopefully they’d get it done before Harris finished his Sunday morning walk and visit to the local diner because Stiles really wasn’t in the mood to deal with his surliness.  He’d been out of high school for ten years and took his father’s place as Sheriff four years ago and the man still treated him like he was a tardy high school student.  Stiles paused when his phone vibrated in his pocket and answered it after two rings without bothering to check the caller as he turned on his car.

            “Sheriff speaking.”

            It was weird for him to refer to himself as the Sheriff.  Half the time when anyone called him that he thought they were referring to his father, but he was very young for the position and even though Beacon Hills was far from a crime metropolis he was doing his best to be professional.  His father had been beloved as Sheriff before he had retired and Stiles hated to disappoint him or the town he’d grown up in.

            No one spoke for a moment, but there was a noise that almost sounded like someone panting for breath that had Stiles immediately concerned.  “Hello?  This is Sheriff.  Who is this?”

            “Sheriff,” the unfamiliar voice of an obviously frightened child whispered.

            Stiles glanced at the screen of the phone briefly, frowning when he saw the call had come from the Alpha of the Hale pack, Talia Hale’s, cell phone.

            “Yes,” he said gently.  “Can you tell me your name?”

            “Cece Hale,” she whispered, identifying herself as the youngest of Talia Hale’s children.  If he recalled correctly, she was nearly six years old and to the surprise of everyone in the Pack had been born human.

            “Where are you, Cece?”

            “At home,” she whispered.

            “Are you hurt?” he asked.

            “I’m hiding,” she whispered.  “Mama gave me her cell phone and said to call for help because the man did something to the phone.”

            “Okay,” Stiles said, intentionally keeping his voice calm as pulled away from the curb.  “Can you tell me what happened?”

            He put his hand over the phone and lifted his radio.  “This is the Sheriff.  Send a patrol car over the Hale house immediately for a possible 10-31 in progress.” 

            “10-4,” came the almost immediately reply from dispatch. 

            Cece coughed quietly before beginning to speak again.  “There was a funny smell.  I couldn’t smell it at first, but when I could I didn’t like it.”

            “What kind of smell?”

            “Like the gas station.  But also kind of like when Daddy forgets to flip a grilled cheese sandwich.”

            Stiles took the next right, turning onto one of the back roads that was a short cut towards the preserve, as he turned on the lights but not the siren.  “Cece, is the house on fire?”

            “Yes,” her voice trembled and she sniffled quietly

            “Okay, I need you to get out of the house.  Can you do that?”

            Stiles again covered the mouthpiece of his phone and lifted his radio, briefly using his elbow to steer the car.  He was about to speak into the radio when it crackled.  “Sheriff, be advised that we’ve received a 911 call for a 10-70 at the Hale residence.  All available units are responding.  ETA is two minutes.”

            “10-4.  I’m on my way.  ETA six minutes.”  Stiles lifted his hand away from the mouthpiece of his cell phone, “Cece?  Are you outside of the house?”

            She coughed again, “I can’t.  There’s Ash.”

            “Cece, you’re human,” Stiles said.  “You can cross the line.  Help is coming for everyone else, but you need to leave now.”

            “I can’t,” she repeated, “Mama tried take us that can cross it, but there was a man outside with a gun,” her voice broke briefly, “He tired to hurt Papa, but Uncle Peter got in the way.  None of us can get out of the house.”

            “He’s at the front door?”

            “Yes.”

            “Can you go out the back door, Cece?”  Stiles lifted his radio while he waited for her reply.  “This is the Sheriff.  Warn all first responders that there is a 10-32 at the Hale House.”

            “10-4,” dispatch replied.

            “No,” Cece replied.  “There is too much fire and smoke there.”

            “Cece, help is coming.  Stay away from the windows and keep low to the ground, okay?”

            “I’m hiding under Mama’s desk in the library.  I can hear the sirens,” she admitted after a moment.  “Is that you?  Are you gonna help?”

            “I’m right behind them,” Stiles promised.  “Is anyone else with you?”

            “My brother Derek, but he’s trying to help Uncle Peter cause he’s bleeding a lot.  Everyone else is trying to put out the fire.  Mama told me to stay here.”

            Stiles turned up the road the preserve and tried to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach, “Do you know how to put the phone on speaker?”

            “Hold on,” there was a briefly moment of silence.  “Okay.”

            “Derek?” Stiles raised his voice a little, “Can you hear me?”

            “I hear you, Sheriff,” Derek replied, audible but obviously not directly beside the phone.

            The sound of his voice, tight and anxious, had Stiles driving as fast as he dared on the dirt road.  “Help is on the way. How’s Peter?”

            “He’s been shot three times with Wolfsbane bullets,” Derek said frankly. 

            “How close is the poison to his heart?” Stiles asked.

            “Close,” Derek replied.

            “Can you tell me how many people are in the house?”

            Derek hesitated briefly as he took a moment to count the heartbeats, “Fifteen.  Most of my family is here right now.”

            Stiles pulled into the driveway and up onto the lawn, out of the way of the fire and ambulance vehicles.  He took a moment to stare at the alarming blaze.  “Okay, I’m here.  The firefighters are trying to put out the blaze-”

            “STILES!”  Stiles quieted, and sprinted forward at the shout, nearly slamming into his best friend as he came around one of the fire trucks.  “Stiles the gunman has been subdued, but we can’t break the Mountain Ash line.”

            “What?” Stiles demanded.

            “Oh god,” Derek’s voice was audible from his phone.  “The gunman is down?”

            “Yeah.  You need to have the human members of your family evacuate.  I’ll work on the Ash line.” Stiles replied quickly before turning his attention to Scott, already knowing whatever he said was going to be bad by the consistent glowing of his eyes, “Tell me.”

            “The fire is out of control,” Scott said in a rush, “a combination of magic and an accelerant.  We can’t stop it.  And there is some kind of ward before the Ash line.  No one can reach it to break it.”

            Stiles went with Scott up to the front porch, ignoring the sting in his eyes from the smoke, but found he wasn’t able to get close enough to the Ash line to even examine it, let alone break it.  The force of the ward was like a wall and short of finding the creator; he had no idea how to destroy it.  The sound of the flame covered front door being kicked down caught his attention and Derek Hale ran through the fire, his arms curled around to protect someone much smaller.  Half a step behind him was a young woman and judging by the way she effortlessly carried Peter Hale, she too was a werewolf.  Derek was covered in ash and already healing burns, his clothing torn and the sight of it made Stiles feel a little wild with rage.  Derek stopped at the bottom step, held back by the Ash line, but dropped his younger sister and gave her a small push.

            “Try to cross, Cece.”

            The little girl crossed the line unhindered with a single step and Stiles lifted her easily, handing her to a nearby paramedic.  Cece screamed as the paramedic took her away from the house and Derek howled, half shifting in response to his sister’s fear.  More Hales appeared and those that were human were sent across the line, until only werewolves were left, with the exception of the Alpha mate.  Adam Hale stood beside his wife at the back of the line, though his gaze was on the scene his youngest daughter was causing as she screamed for her parents and fought against the paramedics.

            “Go, Adam,” Talia instructed, barely audible over the sound of the fire.

            “I’m not leaving you,” he insisted.

            “We made a deal a long time ago.” 

             Adam turned and pulled Talia into his arms, his hands buried in her dark hair as he did his best to wrap himself around her.  The embrace broke only when he began to cough and Talia maneuvered him to the edge of the Mountain Ash.  “Go.”

            “Talia…” He kissed her face, hesitating for a moment.  It happened so fast that Stiles didn’t actually realize what had occurred until Adam was already across the Mountain Ash line.  Derek had come up behind his father while he embraced his mother, took hold of him the moment the kiss ended and shoved him across the line with a strength that nearly sent him to his knees.

            Adam was still for a moment, stunned, when his gaze landed on his son, “Derek?”

            At Stiles’ signal, a pair of paramedics approached Adam.  He was poised to fight them, but stilled when Talia spoke.  “You made me a promise when Cecilia was born, Adam.”

            Adam swallowed thickly, but nodded.  “I remember.”

            The girl carrying Peter collapsed abruptly, falling to her knees and barely managing to keep the older wolf from hitting the ground.  Derek was at her side in a second, taking his Uncle away from her and passing him to another wolf.  “Cora…” 

           Talia joined him at the Cora’s side and held her hand as she coughed with such force that her entire body shook.  The house and all the area behind the ward were thick with ash to the point that the house was barely visible behind the Hales.  Talia stared at her husband unblinkingly as she held the girl’s hand, her eyes red, for a long moment before she turned her attention to Stiles.  “Sheriff, don’t let him watch this.  Don’t let him watch us suffocate.”

           It took four paramedics to drag Adam away, but Stiles attention was glued on the Hale werewolves as they huddled together as close to the Mountain Ash line as they could get.  There were more than a few members of their pack among the first responders and the sound of them howling in grief made Stiles feel sick.  Scott stood as his side, half shifted, though his rage and grief was quieter.

            Feeling his magic surge, Stiles dropped to his knees and pressed his fingers up against the edge of the ward as those that could leave evacuated the burning building.  He didn’t pause long enough to think through what he was doing; worried that second guessing himself would lessen his sudden insight.  He punched a small hole in it by wiggling his fingers, ignoring the burning sensation that started at the tips of his fingers and spread up past his wrist.  He pushed his hand into the Mountain Ash, biting back a scream as the pain worsened, and brushed enough of the Mountain Ash aside to let the rest of the Hale’s escape.

            He’d given up the fight not to scream when Scott grabbed him by his ankles and pulled him away from the ward.  The hole he’d created wasn’t particularly large and the Hale’s could only go through one at a time.  Whimpering, Stiles curled up around his injured hand and fought to breathe evenly.  Talia sent the youngest first and came out last herself, still carrying her brother and covered in horrible burns that were already beginning to heal.  She paused long enough to send Derek away from where he was staring in surprise at the Sheriff to ensure Peter was receiving medical attention before turning her attention to Stiles.  She lifted him to his feet with one hand, her attention lingering on the burn on his arm briefly.

            “Thank you, Sheriff.”

            He nodded, unable to speak.  Talia tightened her grip around his elbow briefly and Stiles watched as the veins in her hands blackened for a moment as she took his pain.

            “Alpha Hale-”

            She pulled him closer and Stiles allowed it as she brushed her cheek against his.  “Our families have never been enemies, but after today I would count you as an ally.”  Except her actions already acted as though he was more than an ally.  She took his pain away and touched him as though he was a member of her Pack.  It was a declaration, and a strong one, that the entire Hale Pack would respect and protect him as though he was one of their own.  And Stiles had no idea how to respond to that.

            Stiles exhaled slowly, deeply overwhelmed.  The Hale’s and the Stilinski’s had always been friendly, but more united in a common love of Beacon Hills than any emotional connection to each other.  “I’m honored,” Stiles whispered.

            She released him after a moment, “I must go to the hospital.  I’ll hear from you soon?”

            Stiles nodded, “Yes.”

            Her expression was one that contained more approval than pleasure, but she nodded and left after a final touch to his arm, joining her husband and daughter in one of the ambulances.  Stiles took a moment to steady himself before moving away from the still burning house and joining Scott.

            “Well?”

            Scott sighed, his fangs and claws receding, “We can’t do anything for the house.  We’re going to shield everything around it and wait for the fire to die on its own.  Stiles,” he glanced at his arm briefly, “You need to see a Doctor.”

            “It doesn’t hurt,” Stiles objected.

            “Because the Alpha took your pain away,” Scott said tensely, “And we really need to talk about what that means.  But it isn’t healed.”

            Stiles waved away his concern, “Later.  I need to look for evidence while its still fresh.”

            Though they hadn’t done much of a job hiding that the fire was arson, the culprits had at least put some seriously effort into leaving behind as little evidence as possible as to their identities.  The gunman had run the moment the police had arrived, and though they’d caught him easily he’d refused to say anything.  Stiles’ deputies were quick to report that his silence was magically compelled.  Even if he wanted to betray his co-conspirators, it was impossible.  It was obvious that he was nothing more than a hired thug and any information he had would likely be of limited use.  But in the end, they didn’t need him to speak to learn who was responsible. 

            Stiles took a moment to consider his options.  They needed answers immediately about who was responsible for this attack.  He lifted his uninjured hand towards the Hale house and allowed the magic to flow through him as he focused on his question. It wasn’t a branch of magic he was particularly skilled at, but it was powerful and if he could focus on his question intensely enough the chance of finding compelling evidence was high.

            One of his deputies approached him, but when Stiles opened unseeing eyes covered with a milky white film, she backed away quickly without disrupting him.  There was anger in the smoke and heat lingering around the still burning house, the anger and fear of the Hale’s, the shock and fear of the personnel who had responded, but there was something else lingering that caught his attention.  At first he thought it was residual anger from the gunman, but it was thicker and distinct and decidedly female.  Stiles felt himself urged to move forward and forced aside the panic and let his magic guide him, because he couldn’t see where he was going.  He walked for perhaps twenty minutes and when he opened his eyes and his sight was once again clear, he saw that he was on one of the lesser-used paths in the preserve about half a mile from the Hale house.

            Glancing over his shoulder, Stiles could still see the smoke rising from the Hale house.  A glint of something in the sunlight caught his attention and Stiles noticed a necklace with stylized wolf on it.  His magic settled when he lifted it off the tree branch it was caught on and his first thought as he stared at the necklace was to wonder if it had been placed there on purpose.  As he studied the wolf he realized that it was familiar, recalled exactly where he had seen the image and felt something harden in his stomach.

            Unless his memory was misleading him, this had to be resolved as fast as possible.  The last thing he wanted was for a blood feud to erupt in the territory. 

            Once the fire had mostly burned itself out, Stiles left his deputies to secure the scene and went to the hospital.  He found Derek sitting alone in the waiting room, curled up in a chair in the corner.  He lifted his head from his arms as Stiles approached and his eyes flashed blue briefly, but he calmed when he saw who it was.

            “Sheriff.”

            “Is the Alpha here?”

            Derek studied him briefly before nodding, “She’s with my Uncle.  I’m supposed to wait here in case you or anyone from the Sheriff’s office comes with news.”  He rose slowly, “Do you have news?”

            Stiles met his gaze evenly and considered his words for a moment, because he knew better than to try to lie to a werewolf, but it was too soon to present his evidence as anything conclusive.  The situation needed to be handled delicately so it didn’t spiral out of control.  “Nothing concrete.”

            Derek took a step closer, “What is it?” 

            “A possible lead, but I haven’t yet laid charges,” Stiles replied.

            Derek moved even closer, until there was barely any space between them.  “Can I help?”

            “Not at this moment, but…” he hesitated briefly, “How’s your Uncle?”

            “Not good, but they think he’ll recover.”  Derek cupped his shoulders, the tips of his fingers curling into Stiles uniform in a movement that made the Sheriff’s eyes widen, “Everyone is going to live because of you.”

            Stiles did his best to control his heart rate, but knew by the expression on Derek’s face that he had utterly failed.  “I’m glad to hear that.”  He was desperate for a chance of topic and suddenly realized that he hadn’t seen the Alpha heir, “I’ll need to see Laura as soon as possible.”

            Derek tilted his head, “Laura?”

            “I’m assuming that she’ll be the Alpha’s second until Peter is fully recovered?”

            “Laura isn’t here,” Derek replied, as though the thought had only just occurred to him.  “She’s out of town.  I- I should call her.”

            “Then I should speak with your father?”

            Derek shook his head again, “He inhaled a lot of smoke.  They have him on a respirator.  Same with Cece,” Derek was quiet briefly.  “She wasn’t as scared when she was talking to you.  If we had died… I wouldn’t have wanted her last moments to be spent in fear.”

            “I’m glad I could help.”  Stiles was quiet briefly.  The Alpha’s second and heir were both unavailable and the Alpha mate had been injured.  “If no one else is available, perhaps I should speak with the Alpha directly when she can spare a moment?”

            Derek hesitated, “She’s trying to help heal my Uncle Peter.  The poison got really close to his heart and his healing ability isn’t kicking in like it should.”

            “I’m really going to need to talk to someone who can speak for the Hale’s.”

            “Someone other than me?” Derek asked, avoiding his gaze briefly.

            “You?” Stiles repeated.

            Derek shrugged, “It’s why I’m here.  But perhaps I could go and get-”

            “No,” Stiles said in a rush, “No, that’s fine.  I didn’t realize.  I have a lead, but before I go any further I need to know how you want this handled.  Justice, arbitration or mediation?”

            Derek’s eyes flashed blue and his face twisted with anger, but he didn’t shift.  “And if we want vengeance?”

            “I’m fairly convinced this was an attack on either your family or your pack, so you have that right.  However, I must absent myself from the process.  I will not interfere unless the Law is violated, but I cannot condone or participate,” Stiles replied formally. 

            Derek was quiet, the glow fading from his eyes in surprise, “You would do that?”

            “It’s not my choice,” Stiles replied, well aware that the formal response he was required to give had sounded somewhat callous, “I am bound by my Oath as Sheriff.  I cannot break that, no matter how heinous the crime.”

            “You think vengeance is the wrong decision?”

            “I cannot counsel you on pack matters,” Stiles replied.

            Derek tilted his head, “Of course you can.  The Alpha-”

            “Whatever she did, it was during an emotionally stressful time and I won’t hold you to an alliance that may not be beneficial to you.  Our families have never been friends, Derek.”

            “That isn’t true,” Derek jumped in.  “We were friends before your Grandfather…”

            “Before my Grandfather what?”

            “Forget it,” Derek mumbled.

            Stiles narrowed his eyes, but let it drop.  “Regardless, I don’t know the pack well enough to fairly advise which route is best for you to take.  I would shy away from Vengeance only because it can lead to Blood Feuds and those often destroy entire families.  Justice can be slow and the use of magic is limited in certain criminal proceedings.  I often counsel people towards Mediation, because it takes into account the needs of all parties…but we’ve never had anything like this happen here before.”

            Derek’s expression was stony, but he nodded slowly.  “Arbitration then.”

            “I’ll find you an arbiter.”

            “No.  You do it.”

            “I’m not sure that’s appropriate,” Stiles cautioned.  “I don’t have the experience-”

            “The Office of the Sheriff is a traditional choice for Arbiter.  You’ve done it before since you become Sheriff.”

            “Sure,” Stiles admitted, “But not on a case like this.  And the other party has say in naming an arbiter.”

            “So you know who they are?”

            Stiles shook his head, “I said I had a lead.  I don’t know anything for sure yet.  The point is, I’m probably not the best choice for arbiter.”

            Derek shrugged, “Well, you’re still my first choice.  If you refuse-”

            Stiles held up his hand, “Fine.  Okay.  Damn it.  I have to go.”

            “Go where?”

            Stiles ignored the question, “Before I go, I’d like to check in on Cece.  Is that okay?”

            A small, surprised smile spread across his features.  “Of course it is.  You don’t need to ask.  I’ll take you to her.”

            Cece was curled up in the center of her bed, her eyes open but unfocused.  Cora was in the room with her, breathing as though she hadn’t been moments away from suffocation earlier.  She moved back to speak quietly with Derek when Stiles approached Cece.  She pulled the mask off her mouth when she caught sight of Stiles.

            “Sheriff.”

            “Keep that on, kiddo,” Stiles said gently.  “How are you feeling?”

            “Fine,” she mumbled, resettling the mask over her face.  “The Doctor said I breathed in too much smoke so I need to stay here, but I can probably go home tomorrow.”  Her face crumpled, “But the house is gone, isn’t it?”

            Stiles took her hand, “I’m sorry, Cece, the house was destroyed.”

            She closed her eyes for a moment, “Oh.”

            “Hey,” Stiles said gently, “You were really brave.  You did great.”

            “Mama said you would come even though you don’t like us.  She said you’d help.”

            “I’m the Sheriff,” Stiles said gently.  “I’ll always come if you need help.”  He frowned to himself briefly, “And I like you fine, Cece.”

            “Everyone says you don’t like us,” Cece whispered.

            “Everyone is wrong,” Stiles promised.  “I don’t know your family very well, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like you.  Your mother is a good Alpha and your family cares about this territory.”

            Cece nodded slowly, “I’ll tell her, okay?  I’ll tell Mama that everyone is wrong.  Did you change your mind about Derek?”

            Before Stiles could ask for an explanation, Derek was suddenly standing beside him and staring down at his little sister with a tight expression.  “Cecilia.”

            “Sorry,” she whispered.

            Derek stroked her hair, “Rest, okay?  Cora is going to stay with you.  Mom will come visit you in a bit.”

            Cece nodded as Derek bent down to kiss her cheek.

            Stiles smiled at her before following Derek from the room. It wasn’t until he was nearly out of the hospital that he realized that Derek had followed and was only a few steps behind him.  Stiles paused a few feet away from his patrol cruiser, keys in his hand, and stared at Derek in faint surprise.  “Where are you going?”

            “I’m going with you,” he replied, as though the question itself came as a surprise.

            “Why?”

            “The Alpha instructed me to assist you,” he said simply.

            Stiles was quiet for a long moment, searching for a tactful way to tell him that his assistance wasn’t needed because his earnestness was making it difficult for Stiles to speak.  Even though he was an adult and the Sheriff of the territory, he was as tongue tied around the werewolf as he had been as a teenager. “I appreciate her…thoughtfulness,” he managed, “But you can’t follow me around.”

            His expression turned faintly sulky, “I wouldn’t get in your way, Sheriff.”

            Stiles sighed, “Derek, why don’t you stay here?”  The weight of the necklace suddenly felt heavy in his pocket and Stiles resisted the urge to touch it.  “I need to follow up on a lead and I can’t do that if you’re with me.”

            “But I-”

            “Do you trust me?”

            The sulkiness vanished instantly, “Yes, Sheriff.”

            “Then let me handle this.  I have a lead.  If I find the arsonist, I’ll propose arbitration on your behalf.”  Stiles held up his hand before Derek could interrupt.  “Surely you see that you can’t come with me for that, Derek.”

            Derek’s expression wavered, “Don’t go alone.”

            “Derek-”

            “Take McCall.”

            Stiles resisted the urge to roll his eyes, “If I take Scott, I might as well just take you.  He might not be a Hale, but he’s part of your pack.  I’m not taking any werewolves with me.”

            “It might not be safe,” Derek insisted.

            “Derek-”

            “Hear me out,” Derek said, the concern in his face giving way to stubbornness.  “Its possible that this was just an attack on my family or the pack as you said, but what if it isn’t?”

            Stiles tilted his head, “What do you mean?”

            “What if it’s an attack on the territory?  We may not be down,” Derek said, “But we’re at least temporarily out for the count.  That leaves your family to guard Beacon Hills.”

            Stiles stiffened, “And you find us inadequate to that task?  We might not be werewolves, Derek,” he said coolly, but still calmly.  The urge to yell at the other man was strong, but the weight of the badge and his Oath as Sheriff prevented him from letting his personal feelings control the conversation.  “But we are witches and we’ve held the office of Sheriff for almost two hundred years.”

            “I didn’t mean it like that,” Derek spoke quietly when Stiles had finished.  “I just meant you shouldn’t go alone.  I don’t want to see you get hurt.  If this is an attack on the territory, neutralizing you is going to be their next step.”

            “I can take care of myself.  I don’t need your help, Derek.  I’m fine on my own.”

            “Believe me,” Derek said, a hint of bitterness entering his tone as he spoke without meeting Stiles gaze, “That was been made very clear to me, Sheriff.  I’m not at all ignorant of the power of your family.”

            Stiles was still for a moment, “What are you talking about?”

            “You know what I’m talking about.”

            Stiles shook his head, “I really don’t.  You’re hinting at something that has nothing to do with this conversation and I really don’t know what you’re trying to say.  But I wouldn’t at all object to you explaining it to me.” 

            All the energy seemed to leave Derek at once and his shoulders dropped.  “I have to go.”

            “What?  But-”

            “The Alpha isn’t impressed by my bickering with the Sheriff in the parking lot of the hospital.”

            “She can hear us?”

            Derek nodded.  “Think about what I said,” he requested as he backed away.

            Stiles remained still until Derek had disappeared back into the hospital.  Once Derek was gone, Stiles climbed into the cruiser and called his father as he drove.

            “Hello?”

            “Hey, dad.”

            “Hi, kid,” Joe Stilinski replied.  “Heard a lot of sirens earlier.  Everything okay?”

            “Someone torched the Hale house,” Stiles said bluntly.  “There was Mountain Ash and a magical barrier ward and a gunman to pick off any of the humans that tried to pass it.”

            Joe inhaled sharply, “And the Hales?”

            “I broke the ward and disrupted the ash,” Stiles replied.  “No one died, but Peter Hale was shot with wolfsbane bullets and is badly hurt.  I still don’t know what this is, but I want you to be careful.”

            “Son?”

            “Its possible this is an attack on the territory and not the pack.  Where are you?”

            “I’m home,” he replied.  “How can I help?”

            “I have an idea of the arsonist and I’m pretty sure this isn’t about the territory, but I wouldn’t say no to some backup when I go confront them.  Interested?”

            “How close are you?”

            “Ten minutes.”

            “I’ll be ready when you get here.”

            True to his word, his father was waiting on the front porch when Stiles pulled into the driveway of his childhood home.  He was dressed casually, his usual post retirement outfit of jeans and a button up, but he was armed with a gun at his hip and the family talisman around his neck.  He shook his head when he climbed into the passenger seat of the cruiser.

            “It’s weird not to be driving this thing.”  His amusement faded when his gaze landed on the burns on Stiles’ arm.  “Kid…”

            Stiles shrugged, “The ward protecting the Mountain Ash was pretty nasty.”

            “So I see.  I take it you haven’t been to a healer. yet”

            He shrugged again, “The Alpha took the pain.  I’ll see a healer later.  Let me catch you up on everything.”

            His father listened carefully, his facial expression revealing nothing until Stiles had finished speaking.  He tapped his finger thoughtfully against his knee for a moment.  “I take it you recognized the symbol on the necklace?”

            Stiles took one hand off the wheel to fish the necklace out of his pocket and hand it over to his father.  “Yep.”

            “Well I’ll be...”  He shook his head, “Though the Hale’s haven’t broken the Law or the Code and even if they had, this is not the way to address it.  Why would they do this?  Unless….”

            “Unless what?”

            “Some of the Argent’s aren’t quite as progressive as Christopher and Allison.  Though they should know very well that they aren’t welcome here.”

            Stiles sighed and shook his head as he took the necklace back from his father, “I really don’t know.  None of my wards around the town were tripped, but given the sophistication of the magic at the Hale house, its entirely possible they were able to get around that.  And that’s just the top of the list for things that have happened today that I can’t explain.”

            “Oh?” Joe asked as Stiles parked the cruiser on the side of a residential street.

            Stiles nodded as they exited the cruiser.  “I’ve been getting some truly cryptic comments from some of the Hales.”

            “Oh?”

            Stiles kept his gaze pinned to his father, aware that something about his comment had put the man on edge.  “Yes.”

            “Which ones?”

            “Mostly Derek Hale.  I get the feeling there is something I don’t know.  Something I should know,” he paused briefly to ring the doorbell.  “And once this is over, if you know what it is, I’d really appreciate it if you would tell me.”

            Joe sighed, “Believe me, son.  If I could, I would have told you years ago.”

            “If you could have?” Stiles questioned.

            “There is only one person in the world with the power to force me to keep a secret from you, kid,” his father said gently.  “If you want to know the truth, you’ll have to get it from him.”

            The confirmation that his grandfather was involved wasn’t exactly a surprise after some of the comments Derek had made, but what his father was implying was powerful magic.  To force a witch to keep a secret, especially from kin, was no easy feat.  And that his grandfather would perform such a spell on his own child was alarming.  Stiles had never exactly been fond of the old man, but Konstany Stilinski was a formidable witch and the head of the clan.

            “This is what you fought about when I was a teenager.  This is why you rarely speak to him.”

            “Just so,” Joe replied.

            Before Stiles could reply, the front door to the house was pulled open.  The welcoming smile of the man faded a little, but he nodded politely.  “Sheriff.  Joe.”

            “Chris,” Joe replied.

            Stiles held up his hand, the necklace dangling from it when Chris Argent met his gaze.  “Missing something?”

 

* * *

 

 

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	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From almost the moment he meets her, Stiles is suspicious of Kate Argent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because my sister told me that delaying posting between chapters makes me a horrible person :)

**Generations**

**Part Two**

Chris Argent showed only mildly puzzlement at the sight of the necklace.  There was no guilt, worry or pride.  He took the necklace carefully and studied it briefly, his brows furrowing in confusion.

            “Where did you find this?”

            “Is it yours?” Stiles asked mildly.

            Chris looked up from the necklace, “No.  It was my mothers.  She gave it to my sister years ago.  Kate came to visit and just gave it to Allison as a present a couple of days ago.  I can’t believe she would be so careless with a family heirloom.  Thank you for returning it, Sheriff.”  The gratitude on his face faded a little when he caught sight of the Sheriff’s expression.  “What?”

            Outside of the fact that his best friend had been madly in love with Chris Argent’s only daughter since they were teenagers, Stiles had never had much to do with them.  The family had moved to Beacon Hills during his grandfather’s tenure as Sheriff, and his father had never had any legal reason to force them out.  The Hale’s hadn’t been happy to have Hunters living in their territory, but Chris Argent was a good man and seemed far more interested in raising his daughter than harassing the local pack.  And when his daughter had turned out to be the mate of a turned wolf in the Hale pack, the Argents had no longer been considered any kind of threat.  The idea that Allison would have anything to do with an attack against the pack was ridiculous.

            “You said your sister gave the necklace to Allison?”

            Chris frowned, “What is going on?”

            “Is Allison here?” Stiles asked.

            “Chris?” a female voice called from inside the house just a moment before a woman appeared behind Chris.  Her grin sharpened when she caught sight of Stiles and Joe.  “Hello.”

            “Ma’am,” Joe responded.

            Chris glanced between his sister and the Stilinski’s.  “This is my sister, Katherine Argent.  Kate, this is Joachinek and Godek Stilinski.”

            “Joe,” he said when he accepted Kate’s hand.

            Kate turned her sharp smile to Stiles, “And you?”

            “Stiles.”

            She raised an eyebrow, “Not God?  Gody?  Godly?”

            Chris cleared his throat, “Kate, he’s the Sheriff.  Speak to him with respect.”

            “Which would make you the head of the clan?” Kate asked, her voice syrupy, her gaze pinned to Joe.

            “That would be my father,” Joe correctly politely.

            Stiles cleared his throat, uncomfortable with something in her gaze as she stared at his father.  Kate turned her overly sweet smile back to Stiles.  “Awfully young to the Sheriff, aren’t you?  Exactly how old are you?”

            There was anger in Chris’ tone when he spoke again, “Enough, Kate.  Sheriff, thank you for returning the necklace to us.  If you’ll excuse me-”

            “Chris,” Stiles said, returning his attention the man and ignoring his sisters gaze.  “I found the necklace on the Hale property.”

            “What necklace?” Kate leaned forward and took the necklace from her brother.  “Allison’s necklace?  Whatever was it doing there?”

            Chris shrugged, “She probably lost it while she was there with Scott.”  He spoke in a rush, using his free arm to push his sister backwards.  By his suddenly tight expression it was obvious that he understood the Sheriff was at his door for more than just returning the necklace.  “Now if you’ll excuse us-”

            “Are you aware that there was a fire at the Hale house today?”

            The little color that remained in Chris’ face drained away at the question.  “No,” he said.  “I heard the sirens, but I didn’t know what was going on.  Was anyone hurt?”

            “Yes,” Stiles said bluntly.  “The worst hurt is Peter Hale.  He took three bullets to the chest.”

            “Surely a wolf-”

            Stiles interrupted Kate, “Wolfsbane bullets.”

            Chris closed his eyes briefly, “What are you saying, Sheriff?  We’ve lived here for years.  We have no reason to start trouble with the Hales.  Allison spends a lot of time with the pack.  She probably just dropped the necklace.  The clasp is old.”

            “I found the necklace investigating the fire,” Stiles replied.  “It was worn by whoever orchestrated the arson.  Magic led me.”

            Kate offered a startled gasp that was so over the top even Joe lost his neutral expression and frowned at her.  “Surely you don’t suspect Allison?”

            Chris inhaled sharply, “Sheriff, you know Allison. She would never-”

            “You’ve confirmed that the necklace is a family heirloom,” Stiles said.

            He shook his head, “Does the Alpha know about this?”

            “The pack knows I have a lead.  They’ve asked for arbitration.”

            Both Chris and Kate seemed surprised by the announcement, but Chris calmed a little.  “I’ll find Allison and-”

            Stiles shook his head.  “You misunderstand.  I’m not charging Allison.  I’m charging your clan.  You have forty eight hours to gather everyone before the arbitration begins.”

            Kate’s mouth tightened, “You can’t do that.”

            “Of course I can,” Stiles replied.  “It’s a family heirloom.  It doesn’t matter whom you say it belongs to.  It could have been anyone in your family.”

            “Or a complete stranger who stole it from Allison to frame our family,” Kate argued.

            “Don’t try trick a witch about magic,” Stiles suggested.  “The only people in this territory who could have taken it from your family are members of my family.”  He offered an entirely unfriendly smile.  “Are you making an accusation, Ms. Argent?”

            “I-”

            “No,” Chris interrupted in a rush.  “No, we are not.  Who did the Hale’s suggest as Arbiter?”

            “Me,” Stiles admitted.

            “You?” Chris frowned.  “Why would they ask you?”

            Stiles shrugged, “I really don’t know, but I agreed.  Do you have an alternative proposal?”

            “No,” Chris said after a moment.  “I don’t think the head of our clan will object.”

            “Oh, he won’t,” Kate chimed in, her smile back in full force.  “We’d be honored to have a Stilinski act as arbiter.” 

            Chris still seemed uneasy, “Are you entirely sure you can act impartially, Sheriff?”

            “Yes,” Stiles said.  “And if I’m mistaken, magic won’t let me swear the Oath when arbitration begins.”

            Chris nodded slowly, “Fine.  But I want an advocate.”

            “Then the Hale’s will be permitted one as well.”

            He nodded again, “I understand.  Forty eight hours, you said?”

            “Yes,” Stiles confirmed.

            “We’ll be there,” Chris promised.

            “Once final question,” Kate interrupted, hand shooting forward to prevent her brother from closing the door.  “Is it true there is a Kanima living in this territory?”

            “Yes,” Stiles admitted cautiously, “But he’s never acted as such in Beacon Hills.  Why do you ask?”

            But she only smiled, before pushing the door shut.  Stiles and his father were both quiet until the cruiser was pulling away from the Argent house.  “There is something wrong with that woman,” Joe said quietly.

            “Yeah,” Stiles agreed.  “She seemed awfully uninterested in her niece being charged with a crime.  But she wasn’t too pleased when I charged the clan.  But then she calmed when I said I would act as arbiter.  And I can’t imagine her interest in the Kanima.”

            “Hmm.  She’s making an assumption about you.”

            “What assumption?” Stiles asked.

            Joe sighed, “I can’t say.  I’m already pushing the boundaries of the secrecy spell.”

          “Okay,” Stiles said, because knowing is grandfather there would likely be nasty consequences for trying to go against one of his spells.  “I have to go back to the hospital.  I’ll drop you off first, okay?”

            Joe nodded, “Sure.”  He hesitated briefly before removing the talisman necklace and dropping it around his son’s neck. 

            “Dad-”

            “Humor me,” he said after a moment.  “I’ll be safe behind the wards at the house.”

            Stiles touched the amulet and admitted to himself that the extra layer of power and protection seeped in his fathers magic was comforting.  “Okay.”

            Joe hesitated briefly when Stiles stopped the car in front of his house.  He leaned across the seats and pressed a kiss to Stiles forehead.  “Please be careful.  And don’t go to talk to your grandfather without me, okay?”

            Stiles nodded, “Yeah.  That’s going to have to wait until this whole mess is sorted.”

            Joe nodded, “And watch out for Kate Argent.”

            “I wonder why…” Stiles trailed off.  He shook his head quickly, “Don’t answer that.  I’m just thinking aloud.”

            “What are you thinking?” Joe asked.

            “That she’s made certain assumptions about my opinions of the Hales, of werewolves.  And it’s related to the secret that grandfather is making you keep.”

            “Hmm,” Joe replied simply.  “Interesting theory, kid.  Call me later?”

            Stiles nodded, “I will,” he promised. 

            “And go see a healer!” Joe called from the sidewalk.  “Your arm looks bad, kid.”

             It was difficult to tell from his father’s reaction if he was correct, but it was the only thing that made sense.  But what exactly had happened between his grandfather and the Hale’s was still a total mystery.  He watched to make sure his father passed the wards around his property safely before reaching for his radio as he drove away.  “Dispatch this is the Sheriff.”

            “Go ahead, Sheriff.”

            “Patch me through to the fire station.”

            There was a brief sound of static, “Fire station.”

            “This is the Sheriff.  Private line for the Chief.”

            Stiles turned down the road to the hospital as he waited for Scott to get on the radio and tired to ignore the throbbing pain from the burns on his arm.  “McCall.”

            “Hey, Scotty.  Any updates?”

            “We kept the fire contained until it burned itself out.  I was about to drop off all the evidence we tagged at your office and head to the hospital.  How about you?  Any updates?”

            “Everyone seems to be out of danger except Peter Hale.  The Hales opted for Arbitration and I’ve laid a charge.  They agreed and requested advocates.  Arbitration begins in forty eight hours.”

            “You laid a charge already?  Whose acting as Arbiter?”

            “I am.”

            “Damn,” Scott said lowly.  “Who are the parties?  The pack and…?”

            “Not the pack, the Hales,” Stiles corrected.  “I’m Arbiter and…”

            “And what?”

            “Maybe we should talk about this face to face.”

            “Sure.  I’m supposed to meet Allison at the hospital after I drop by your office, but I could-”

            “Okay, this can’t wait then,” Stiles said.  “I’ve laid charges on the Argents.”

            There was a very long pause, “Stiles… The whole family?”

            “My only other option was to charge Allison.”

            “I don’t understand what you’re telling me,” Scott admitted quietly.  “Allison would never…”

            “I know,” Stiles replied.  “But until this is sorted, I need you to stay away from her.”

            “Do you know what you’re asking?  Allison is my mate, Stiles.”

            “I know,” Stiles said, “But I didn’t have a choice.  I’m toeing the line of my Oath doing this much to protect her when the evidence so heavily implicates her.  You have to stay away from her until this is over.  Promise me.”

            “Stiles…”

            “Promise me!  Everything has to be above board until this is sorted.”

            “I promise,” Scott agreed at a whisper.

            “I’m at the hospital.  Meet me here after you drop the stuff off.”

            “Fifteen minutes,” Scott promised quietly.

            Stiles took a few minutes to sit in the cruiser once he’d parked in the lot before the hospital and hate himself a little.  It didn’t matter that this was the best possible solution, Scott had been his best friend since they were in diapers and knowing he was so hurt was an awful feeling.  He took a few more minutes to center himself, waiting for the volatile feeling of his riled magic to settle, before entering the hospital.  Derek was waiting for him, abashed and a little embarrassed.

            “Sheriff.”

            Stiles ran a hand through his hair tiredly.  “I’ve laid charges and they accepted me as Arbiter.  You’ll need to pick an advocate.”

            Derek was quiet for a moment, “Off the top of my head, I would pick Alan Deaton or Lydia Martin or Allison Argent.”  He tilted his head when Stiles’ heart skipped a beat.  “What’s wrong?”

            “You can’t pick Allison Argent.”

            “Why not?”

            “Because I’ve laid charges against the Argents.”

            “The Argents?  Allison and Chris have no reason to attack us,” Derek objected.  “We haven’t broken the Law or the Code.  And even if we had, Chris would have gone to you.  He would never have resorted to trying to burn the house down with all of us in it.”

            “I know.  Which is why I laid charges against the entire clan.”

            “But Chris and Allison are the only Argent’s in this territory.”

            Stiles shook his head, “That isn’t accurate.  Chris’ sister Katherine is currently here.  And its possible that others came into the territory without being noticed.”

            Derek stilled, “Did you say Katherine Argent is in Beacon Hills?”

            “I did,” Stiles confirmed slowly, “Do you know her?”  He stilled when he realized that Derek’s claws and fangs had elongated.  “…Derek?” He took a careful step back, but stilled when Derek growled lowly.  The sudden appearance of several members of the Hale family only further served to agitate him, and when Cora took a step closer to him, Derek grabbed Stiles by the arm and pulled the witch to him.  He wrapped one arm around his stomach and the other his chest, checking his strength but holding him there.  It startled Stiles, but he didn’t feel threatened and he was prepared to clamp down on the protective magic of the talismans before he realized that neither of them had reacted to protect him.

            Talia Hale appeared in front of them, un-shifted and calm.  “Derek,” she said gently.  Her gaze moved from her son’s face to Stiles.  “Are you alright, Sheriff?”

            “Fine,” Stiles replied calmly, doing his best to return his heart rate to normal.  “Just startled.  I don’t think he’s going to hurt me.”

            She tilted her head a little, “Of course he isn’t, but he’s panicked and sometimes we forget our own strength.  Derek,” she said gently.  “Calm down, shift and release the Sheriff.”

            It took a few moments for Derek to calm enough for his claws and fangs to recede, but even once they did he continued to hold onto Stiles.  The hold turned less restrictive and more into something that resembled a hug.  He pressed his face to the side of Stiles’ neck and inhaled deeply.  The feel of his face, his mouth especially, against his neck had Stiles’ reddening in embarrassment.  Derek let out a quiet noise of want and Talia’s eyes flashed red.  “Let him go.  Now.”

            Derek released him and took a large step back, his eyes glued to his feet.  “I apologize.  I- I lost control.”

            Talia shook her head, “I asked too much of you.  It was unfair to put you in this position.”

            “There isn’t anyone else,” Derek replied quietly.  “Go back to Uncle Peter.  I’m in control.  I promise.  I can handle this until Laura returns.”

            Talia hesitated for a moment and her gaze lingered on Stiles, “Sheriff?”

            “We’re fine here, Alpha,” he assured her.

            Stiles stared at Derek for a while after Talia left as the beta continued to avoid his gaze, “Where is your sister?”

            “Laura is visiting her fiancé. She’ll be here tomorrow,” Derek admitted.  “I- I’m sorry I lost control.  It won’t happen again.”

            Stiles waved away his apology and tapped his talismans.  “They didn’t even react.  I was never in any danger.”

            “Of course you weren’t,” Derek said a tad sharply, “But I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that.”  He was quiet for a moment.  “Lydia.  We’ll take Lydia as our advocate.  Do you know who the Argents will chose?”

            Lydia was a good choice for more than just her intelligence, eloquence and absolute inability to be intimidated.  “I don’t,” Stiles admitted.  “Do you want to tell me what made you lose control?”  It obviously had something to do with Katherine Argent, but he was wary about upsetting Derek again and hesitated to ask directly.  So when Derek shook his head in reply to the question, Stiles let the line of inquiry drop.  “Okay.  How’s Peter?”

            Most of Derek’s unease faded, “Better.  He’s healing.”

            “Good.”

            “Stiles, Derek,” the sound of Scott’s voice reached them as he rounded the corner.  He pulled Derek into a hug that probably would have crushed a human.  Derek’s anxiety fully faded with the embrace.

            “Scott.”

            Scott glanced at Stiles briefly, “Did you tell him?”

            “About the Argents?  Yeah.”

            Scott turned his attention back to Derek, “You know Allison would never-”

            “We all know,” Derek said quietly.  “Neither would Chris.”  He took hold of Scott’s upper arm.  “It’s going to be okay, Scott.”

            Scott exhaled slowly, but managed a nod.  “Yeah.  But things aren’t official between us.  I got the ring, I was gonna ask and everything but I hadn’t gotten around to it and now she’s stuck on the other side for arbitration.”

            “She’s your mate, she’s pack,” Derek continued gently.  “You might not have made it official, but we aren’t going to let anything happen to her.”

            Stiles shifted his weight during the ensuing silence.  “I have to go.  Arbitration begins in forty-eight hours.  I’ll see you then.”

            Derek frowned, “Where are you going?”

            “I have things to do.  I have to prepare-”

            “His arm hurts,” Scott interrupted.  He pinned a vaguely disapproving glare on Stiles.  “You need to see someone about that.”  His eyes narrowed, “And we still need to have that chat.”

            “I can take the pain away,” Derek offered.

            “Its probably better to just go see a healer,” Stiles said.  “I’m not that great with healing magic.”

            “I’ll go with you,” Derek offered.

            “Its fine,” Stiles began.

            Scott interrupted him, “You shouldn’t be using your hand.  Let Derek drive you to Deaton’s.”

            He didn’t particularly want to agree, but the pain was building and it had been a long day so he agreed without any further fuss.  Derek didn’t say much as he drove to Deaton’s place, aside from a promise to drive Stiles back to the hospital to get his cruiser after the visit.  Despite the late hour, Deaton was still in his office and seemed unsurprised to see them.

            “Sheriff.  I heard from the Alpha about what you did for the pack.”

            “It was nothing,” Stiles replied.

            “Well, Cecelia Hale is my goddaughter and I thank you for that.  Talia mentioned you’d been hurt, but I didn’t realize it was this bad.”  He pinned an expression of disapproval on Stiles as he examined his arm, “You should have come to see me sooner.  Magic did this.  You should know better than to let a wound like this linger on your body.  Tell me about the curse?”

            “It happened when I disrupted a ward guarding a Mountain Ash line,” Stiles admitted.

            “Hmm,” Alan said thoughtfully.  “Any idea what kind of ward it was?”

            “A strong one,” Stiles admitted.  “It kept hold of me even after I punched a hole it in and disturbed the Mountain Ash.  If Scott hadn’t pulled me out, I’d probably be covered in this burns.”

            “Yes,” Alan agreed, his gaze pinned to Stiles fingertips, “This is some harsh magic.  You’d probably have lost your hand, if not most of your arm, if it didn’t kill you outright.”

            “Is he going to be okay?” Derek demanded.

            Alan nodded, stepping away briefly to retrieve a jar of salve.  He spread the cool goo over Stiles burns.  The pain faded almost immediately and Stiles let out a sigh of relief.  The worst of the burns faded a little.

            “Keep the burns coated in this,” Alan said.  “And drink peppermint tea.  It should clear up in a couple of days.”

            “I will,” Stiles promised.

            “Good. Sheriff,” he spoke as Stiles and Derek prepared to leave.  “Do you know who set the ward?”  He was quiet for a moment. 

            Stiles shook his head, “Not yet.  Perhaps one of the Argents is married to a witch?  Perhaps they bought it?  I’m sure it will come up during Arbitration.”

            “Hmm,” Alan said thoughtfully.  “Let’s hope they bought it.  A witch of this power has the potential to cause some serious trouble.”

            Derek was quiet on the drive back to the hospital, though he kept sneaking glances at Stiles out of the corner of his eye when he thought the other man wasn’t looking.  Once they reached the hospital, he walked Stiles to the cruiser and hesitated.

            “I’ll see you in two days,” Stiles prompted after a long silence.

            Derek nodded quickly.  “Yeah, see you.”

            Despite that he was tired and unsettled, Stiles went to the station instead of going home.  He reviewed the evidence his deputies had gathered and everything Scott had dropped up, but there was nothing particularly helpful.  He read over the analysis of the ward, but there were no hints as to its origins.  Once he was finished, he went to his father’s house instead of his apartment and spent the night in his old bedroom.

            He had breakfast with his father before leaving for work.  Joe refused to accept his talisman back and made Stiles a few minutes late by catching him at the front door and layering him with more protective spells and charms than he could count.

            “Dad,” Stiles objected.  “Don’t you think this is a bit much?”

            “No,” Joe said bluntly.  “I spoke to your grandfather last night and he was entirely too calm about the situation.  Please be careful, kid.”

            “I will,” Stiles promised.  “You’ll stay behind the wards?”

            Joe nodded, “I’ll be here all day.”

            Once he made it to the station, Stiles was able to get in a couple of hours of work before he was interrupted.  He wrote out the basic oaths for the participants to take and was compiling a list of spells to use when there was a knock on his door.  Allison Argent lingered in the doorway uncomfortable for a long moment even after Stiles invited her in.

            “Sheriff.”

            “Hey,” Stiles frowned, “Come in.”

            She swallowed thickly, “I need to ask you something.”

            “I’ll answer if I can.”

            “Did you charge my family because you think I’m innocent and you’re trying to protect me or because you think I’m guilty and you’re trying to protect me?”

            “The first one.”

            Her shoulder dropped, “And Scott?”

            “What do you think?”

            She rubbed a hand tiredly over her face before meeting his gaze, “Sheriff, I was not involved in anyway with setting the fire at the Hale house.”

            “I believe you, Allison.”

            She nodded, “Okay.  I- I just wanted to look you in the face and tell you that.  I didn’t want there to be any doubt.”

            “Okay.”  He studied her briefly, made note of the dark circles under her eyes but didn’t comment on them. 

            “I actually came to inform you of our choice for advocate.”  She frowned a little, “It’s Adrian Harris.”

            Stiles frowned, “Adrian Harris?”

            Allison shrugged, “I was pretty surprised too.  But he’s agreed.  Who did the Hale’s chose?”

            “You were one of their first choices.  Or one of Derek Hale’s at least.  He seems to be acting as second at the moment.”

            “I was?” she asked in surprised.

            “It’s going to be Lydia.”

            Allison laughed quietly.  “Good.  They’ll totally underestimate her and she’ll wipe the floor with them.  She’s been able to talk circles around Harris since we were teenagers.”

            “I don’t image he’ll be half pleased to have to advocate against a former student,” Stiles agreed.  “He’ll see it as beneath him.”

            She nodded, “Are you counting on the Kanima to interfere if things go wrong?”

            Stiles shrugged, “I can’t officially condone that sort of vigilantism, but it did occur to me that the Kanima offers Lydia a degree of protection that another Advocate might not have.  No one will dare harm her because they don’t want anymore attention on this than there already is.”

            Allison left not long later and once Stiles was finished with the oaths, he ate the lunch his father had packed for him.  He assumed the large salad was payback for the dietary control he’d exercised as a teenager and couldn’t help but laugh as he ate the leafy greens.  He let his thoughts drift as he ate and found himself thinking more about Derek Hale and his rather strong reaction to the reference to Katherine Argent.  After her bizarre and less than subtle behavior, Kate was his prime suspect for the arson.  She didn’t seem entirely right to him, so he had originally begun to suspect that it was somehow related to her nieces romantic involvement with a werewolf, but after Derek’s reaction he couldn’t discount that perhaps there was something else going on.

            Putting his salad aside, Stiles took a moment to be grateful that his father had overseen the transfer of all their records to a computer database before retiring, before looking for something that might connect Kate Argent to Derek Hale.  All he could find was a note from years ago on a public disturbance complaint against Laura Hale, which listed both Derek Hale and Katherine Argent was witnesses.  Stiles wasn’t entirely sure how old Derek was, but probably not much older than him, which would have put Derek in High School at the time.  It was a couple of years after Chris Argent moved to Beacon Hills.  The date seemed significant and it took him a moment to remember that it was around the same time that his grandfather had nearly lost their hold on the position of Sheriff.  Stiles had no idea what exactly had happened, he’d barely been a teenager then, but his Grandfather had violated his Oath as Sheriff to such a degree that he’d been expelled from the position and his father had barely managed to replace him.

            Stiles tapped his fingers against his desk in thought as he considered what might have occurred between the Hale’s and Kate Argent, but each scenario he envisioned seemed more outlandish than the last.  He reconsidered revenge against Allison as a motivation, and though Kate seemed unbalanced he couldn’t imagine someone trying so hard to hurt someone as kind as Allison.

            Tired and verging on the edge of a headache, Stiles left the station for a short walk.  He was halfway down Main Street and debating if he ought to turn around and head back when he heard the sound of clicking heels behind him and a moment later hands wrapped around his elbow.  Stiles smiled and tucked Lydia Martin’s hand into his arm and continued on his way.

            “Sheriff,” she said politely.  “Though I’m sure you already know, I’m here to notify you that I’ve consented to represent the Hale’s as their Advocate in Arbitration.”  She relaxed a little when he nodded, “A little birdie told me you suggested me over Alan Deaton.  Should I be complimented or annoyed with you?”

            “I didn’t offer any suggestions except to say he couldn’t chose Allison.”

            “Well, the request came by way of Jackson and he seemed pretty sure that the Hale’s felt you supported their choice.”

            “I thought Jackson was ought of town.”

            “He was,” Lydia agreed, “And he is again now.  But he’s an ally of the pack and he knew something was wrong.  He came back briefly to see Alpha Hale and left again after relaying their request that I act as Advocate.  Why did you suggest me, Sheriff Stilinski?”

            Stiles grinned briefly at the slightly haughty tone she adopted with his title, but he shrugged in reply to her question, “Well its entirely possible Derek Hale picked up on that nonverbally, Dr. Martin.  I do think you a better choice over Alan Deaton.  You’re far less likely to be cowed by posturing or bullshit.  And I think the threat of interest from our local justice enforcing vigilante will keep things civil.”

            Lydia huffed impatiently, “Jackson never acts as the Kanima in Beacon Hills.  And like I said before, he isn’t even here right now.”

            “I think the injustice of the Hale fire would have called to him if he were nearby,” Stiles agreed.  He winced a little, “At this rate I won’t be able to make the Oath.”

            Lydia rolled her eyes, “You’ve always been very good at compartmentalizing your personal feelings.  I have no doubt that you can act impartially.”

            “We’ll see,” Stiles shook his head, smiling fainting when he realized she had steered him around the block and back in the direction of the station.  “See you tomorrow.”

            She waved, “You’d better bring breakfast.”

            After his encounter with Lydia, Stiles wasn’t entirely surprised to find a surly Adrian Harris waiting for him outside his office.  The man sneered at him.  “Stilinski.  I know you let those bratty kids go after toilet papering my house.”

            Stiles tilted his head, “There was toilet paper on your house?”

            He visibly gritted his teeth, “You made them clean it up.  And I’d have been notified if you bothered to do your job by charging them with something.”

            Stiles offered a bland smile, “If you’d like to file a complaint about property damage-”

            “There wasn’t any property damage and you know that.”

            “Well, I’m glad to hear that.  Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Harris?”

            He visibly took a moment to calm himself, “I’ve agreed to Advocate for the Argents at Arbitration.  Can’t image why, but they’ve refused to allow me to protest your participation.”

            “Hmm,” Stiles replied.

            “I’m watching you, Stilinski,” Harris promised viciously.  “I don’t care what Gerard Argent says.  You’re an embarrassment to the position of Sheriff and expecting you to act impartially in something of this magnitude is laughable.”

            “If I’m as unqualified as you think,” Stiles replied quietly, “Than I won’t be able to take the Oath.  Magic won’t let me.”

            “We’ll see.”

            “We will,” Stiles agreed.  “Unless you have official business with the Sheriff, I’m going to have to ask you to absent yourself from my office.”

            Harris left after one final, unimpressed sneer and once he was gone Stiles let his head drop against his desk.  Adrian Harris was a prick.  He should have pretended he never saw those kids toilet papering his house.  Stiles made a final, quick phone call to Alan Deaton before leaving the station for the day.  Deaton agreed to his proposal, but it did little to alleviate the lingering feeling of anxiety he had about the Arbitration.

            Stiles again spent the night at his father’s house, but he was too tired and anxious about the Arbitration to do much other than crawl into bed the directly after dinner.  The next morning found him in one of the conference rooms in the town hall, arranging the selection of drinks, fruit and donuts he’d brought mostly to appease Lydia but also because hopefully if people were eating they’d be less likely to start fighting.

            The sound of feet running reached him just before the murmur of voices and Stiles barely had time to get to his feet before Cece Hale was running into the room and throwing herself on him.  Stiles caught her easily, rocking back on his heels slightly.

            “Cece, I see you’re feeling better.”

            She nodded eagerly, “Here.  I made you this thank you card.”  She just managed to tuck a piece of paper into his shirt pocket before her father strode into the room and with a affectionate roll of his eyes plucked her from Stiles’ arms.

            “Cece, you know you aren’t supposed to be running yet.”

            “But I feel fine,” she protested.  “Honest, I do.  And Cora said my breathing sounds the same as ever.  And I wanted to say hi to the Sheriff before he’s too busy.”

            Her father easily tucked her against his side, “All the same, no running until the Doctor says its okay.”  He turned a slightly tired smile in Stiles direction.  “Sheriff.  I’d like to thank you for what you did.  I don’t think we’ve ever actually met.  I’m Adam Hale.”

            “It was nothing,” Stiles replied, taking the free hand he offered.  “Stiles Stilinski.”

            “Sheriff, is Stiles your real name?  Cora said it isn’t,” Cece said in a rush. 

            “Cece,” Adam objected.

            “It’s a nickname,” Stiles confirmed.

            “What’s your real name?”

            “Promise you won’t tell anyone?”  He smiled at her eager nod.  “Godek.”

            “I like it,” she declared.  “It sounds special.”

            Stiles smiled, “Thank you.”

            Adam put Cece back on her feet and shooed her in the direction of the food.  “Sheriff, I just wanted to let you know that if you ever have any questions or just want to talk…I’m available.  No expectations and no judgment.  And absolutely no pressure.”

            Stiles titled his head in confusion, “Thank you?”

            Adam nodded, “Considering it a standing offer.  I might not be a witch, but I understand what its like to be in your position.  And if you’d rather not talk to me because I’m Derek’s father, I can put you in touch with a woman in San Francisco.  She’s a good friend, but she isn’t family and she’d answer your questions honestly.”

            “I’m not sure I know what you’re getting at,” Stiles admitted after a moment.  “My questions about what?”

            Whatever reply Adam would have made was cut off by the entrance of the rest of his family with Lydia, followed closely by the Argents with Adrian Harris.  The two families immediately separated themselves on either side of the table containing the food and all of them pinned almost unblinking gazes on the Sheriff. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on tumblr http://www.tumblr.com/blog/isa-iadel


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arbitration proves that the situation is not exactly as it seems

**Generations**

**Part Three**

Stiles studied the two groups carefully.  The Argents had gathered the immediate members of their clan, a total of twelve people.  He noted that Allison was youngest of them and there were only two other women besides her and Kate.  Allison and Chris stood off the side from the rest of the clan, speaking quietly to each other.  Allison looked pale and unhappy, but there was a stubborn set to her chin that Stiles recognized well from high school and some of his worry for her faded.  Kate Argent stood beside her father, a man Stiles vaguely recognized though he hadn’t visited the town in years, in the center of the clan.  She smiled as she chatted, as though there was nothing in the world that could possibly bother her.  Her smile widened briefly when her gaze landed on Stiles and he looked away.  Adrian Harris stood in between Kate and her father, quiet and sullen, and Stiles was suddenly reminded of the teenagers who had toileted papered his house.  They’d described him as being in a nasty mood, far more than usual.  And looking at the expression on his face, Stiles would easily see it.  He seemed very angry, not far off from losing his temper.

            The Hales stood as far away from the Argent’s as they could manage, with Lydia not far away.  She was the only one who seemed interested in the table of food, calmly helping herself to a coffee and some fruit.  Talia and Derek stood a step in front of everyone else.  Peter wasn’t far behind them, though he still seemed pale and weak as he leaned heavily on Cora.  Adam stood at his side, Cece still in his arms.  Cecilia gave him a pointed look, her gaze landing on his pocket, and Stiles obligingly removed the paper she had slipped there and glanced over it.  Though she’d claimed it was a thank you note, it was a little more complicated than that and Stiles wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. 

Dear Sherif Stiles

Thank you for helping us when I called you.  I am feeling a lot better now.  I wanted to ~~writ~~ ~~write~~ writ you a note to say thanks and also because my brother is shy so he might not tell you the best things about himself.  I only have one brother but I dont think anyone could be better than Derek.  I hope you change your mind because I like you a lot and I want you to marry him and be my friend forever.  I hope my list helps you. 

 

My favorite Things about My Brother Derek

  1. He is super strong and tall so he is good at picking up things and getting things off the high shelf
  2. He doesn’t mind sharing his candy.  And he doesnt like peanut butter so you never have to fight him for Reeces
  3. He sings me songs with my name in them.  I dont think there are any songs with your name in them but I think he would probably still sing you a song. He knows a lot of Beetles songs.
  4. He is good at climbing trees and playing tag.  He gives me piggy back rides and takes me to the park.  If anyone is mean to me he growls at them. 
  5. He can touch his nose with his tongue.
  6. ~~6.~~ ~~he lets me steer the car in the driveway~~
  7. DON’T READ THAT ONE.  DEREK ALWAYS OBAYS THE LAW!
  8. He can stuff one hundrad marshmellows in his mouth
  9. He is teaching me how to play the piano
  10. he likes readin cause he is smart.  He read me harry potter.  We are gonna dress up for helloween



 

Thank you for readin my note Sherif.

 

From,

 ~~Cece~~   Cecelia Hale

 

            Stiles turned his attention back to Cecilia after reading her note for the second time.  He felt his cheeks redden a little when she grinned, pointed at her brother and gave Stiles a thumbs up sign.  No one seemed to notice except Derek, only because he had already been staring at Stiles, and his expression turned curious as he glanced between his sister and Stiles.  Talia turned her attention to Stiles and he spoke when he realized she was waiting for him to begin.  Stiles put the note back in his pocket and resolved to speak to Cecilia about it once Arbitration was over.  He wasn’t sure how, but he’d think of a way to convince her that he could still be her friend without anything so drastic as marriage to her brother.  It was a ridiculous, though not entirely unpleasant prospect, and Stiles pushed the thought out of his head because it wasn’t an appropriate time to relive his old high school crush on Derek Hale.

            He cleared his throat, “Alpha Hale, I believe I heard that the Alpha heir would be back today.  Are you expecting her soon?”

            “Yes,” Talia replied.

            Gerard cleared his throat, “We aren’t interested in any delays.  A time was set.  If your heir can’t be bothered to appear, then-”

            There was a low growl from the doorway as Laura Hale entered.  “I’m here,” she said quickly.  She passed the Argents without looking at them and moved to stand beside her mother.  They briefly formed a small circle, murmuring to each other, and when they separated Derek moved to stand back beside his father.  Talia took hold of his elbow and kept him at her left side while Laura stood at her right.  Laura inclined her head briefly.

            “Sheriff,” she said stiffly.  “I apologize for the delay.”

            “It’s no problem,” Stiles replied.  “We’re still waiting on a few more people anyway.”

            “Are we?” Kate piped up, her smile still firmly in place, “Whom exactly are we still waiting for?”

            She had barely finished asking the question when two men entered the room.  Joe smiled briefly at Stiles before moving to lean against an out of the way wall.  Alan Deaton moved further into the room without speaking until he stood next to Stiles.

            “What is the meaning of this?” Gerard demanded.

            “I’ve asked Dr. Deaton here in his capacity as Cecilia Hale’s godfather,” Stiles replied.

            “They can’t have more than one Advocate,” Kate said.

            “I’m not here to act as an Advocate,” Alan said calmly.  “I’ve been asked by the Sheriff to act as a Guardian Ad Litem for Cecilia Hale.  I’m here to represent her interests in this proceeding.”

            The reaction to the insult was immediate.  Most of the Hale’s began to growl and Talia’s eyes turned and remained red.  One of the only wolves among them who was not growling was Derek and Stiles felt the heaviness of his gaze and struggled to avoid returning it.  It had occurred to him how rude his request was, to publicly imply that the Hale’s couldn’t be trusted with their own daughter, but surely they understood the precaution he was taking.  Their anger was further exacerbated when Gerard when to laugh loudly.  “We have no objections to that.  Of course a human child in a pack would need to have her interests protected from those beasts.”

            Talia ignored Gerard completely, pinning still red eyes on Stiles.  Whatever she was about to say was cut off when her husband leaned forward.  He whispered something to her that had all of the wolves calming slightly before he turned his attention to Stiles.  “We accept.”  He placed Cecilia on her feet, “Go stand with Uncle Alan.”

            Cecilia wrapped her arms around his leg, “I wanna stay with you.”

            Talia lifted Cecilia in her arms, “Just for a bit, sweetheart.”  When Cecilia gave a reluctant nod, Talia crossed the room and placed in her Alan’s arms.  Talia kissed her cheek before returning to stand between Laura and Derek.

            “And why is your father here, Sheriff?”  The question came from Chris and he seemed more curious than concerned.

            “It’s tradition to have a witness,” Stiles replied.  “He’s here to observe Arbitration only.  Is there any objection?”  He continued when none were made.  “Joachinek Stilinski, do you agree to remain as an impartial, non-interfering observer for this process?”

            “I do.”

             “Thank you for your service.”  Stiles turned to Talia first, because the Hale’s were the complaining party in the Arbitration.  “Who do you chose as Advocate?”

            “Lydia Martin.”

            Lydia nodded to Stiles, “I accept.”

            “Thank you for your service,” Stiles replied formally before turning his attention back to Talia, “Who will represent the Hale family?”

            “As Alpha, I will,” she replied.

            “And who is your heir?”

            She gestured to her oldest daughter beside her, “Laura.”

            “And who is your second?”

            “My brother, Peter,” she replied.  “Though my husband Adam will speak for him.”

            “And who is the youngest among you?”

            Talia eyes flashed red briefly, “My daughter, Cecilia.”

            Alan kept his hands rested on Cece’s shoulders, “Though she is free to speak for herself, I will represent her interests should it become necessary.”

            “Thank you for your service,” Stiles replied to him.  “And who is your witness?  Who is prepared to testify as to what occurred and represent the opinions, wishes and needs of those who will not be present?”

            “Derek will be our witness.”

            “Is there agreement among you?”  He spoke again when the Hales all nodded in agreement.  “Thank you, Alpha.”  He angled his body towards to Argents.  “Who do you chose as Advocate?”

            “Adrian Harris,” Gerard replied.

            Harris gave a curt nod, “I accept.”

            “Thank you for your service.  Who will represent the Argent family?”

            “I will,” Gerard replied.

            “And who is your heir?”

            Gerard smiled a little, “My daughter, Kate.”

            “And who is your second?”

            “My daughter-in-law, Victoria.”

            The reaction to his announcement was almost immediate; the only Argent who seemed unsurprised by it was Victoria herself and Kate.  Chris went red in the face and opened his mouth to utter what was likely an objection, but an older women lingering in the background cut off whatever he planned to say.  “I object.”

            If Gerard’s acknowledgement of his son’s ex-wife as his second had startled the family, that another family member would publicly object to his choice was even more surprising to the other Argents.  The woman was older, nearly the same age as Gerard, but seemed to be in much better health than him.  Whispers broke out among them, and while some seemed to be nodded in agreement with her statement, others were frowning at her.

            “Your name, please?”

            “Claire Argent.”

            “Your objection?”

            “Though she kept our name, Victoria has been divorced from Christopher for at least a decade.  It is not appropriate for her to speak for us.”

            “Mr. Argent?” Stiles turned his attention back to Gerard.

            “Victoria has maintained her ties with the family.”

            “Ms. Argent?” Stiles looked at Claire.

            “I maintain my objection.”

            “It will be called to a vote-”

            “You cannot circumvent a decision by the head of the family,” Victoria interjected.  “I have a right to protect my family and my daughter.  I won’t let those beasts pin this on her because she had the poor judgment to take up with a member of their pack!”

            “You have spoken out of order,” Stiles said when she had finished.  “Alpha, you may ask for one concession or consideration.  You must ask now and it must be in proportion to the beach of etiquette.  Advocate Harris has the right to object.  If he does and he and Advocate Martin cannot reach a timely resolution, I will make the final decision.  Please make your request.”

            “Katherine Argent cannot speak to or about my son Derek.  Magically binding.”

             Kate laughed loudly at the proclamation, “Absolutely not.  That’s utterly ridiculous and-”

            “Silence,” Stiles demanded without looking at her.  “Why?”

            “Had there been a competent Sheriff in office fifteen years ago, we would have a restraining order against her for her attempt bind my son with an attraction spell.”

            Stiles didn’t bother to try to keep his eyes away from Derek and was surprised to find that for the first time that evening, the werewolf wasn’t looking at him.  He turned his attention back to the Argents, his gaze landing on Harris.

            “Well?”

            “We’ll accept the restriction, magically binding for one year.”

            “Ten years,” Talia replied.

            “And in return Victoria will be permitted to act as second,” he added.

            “This isn’t a negotiation, Advocate Harris,” Lydia said patiently.  “And the objection to Victoria came from within the Argent clan.  The Sheriff cannot just force her to withdraw it.”

            “Ten years is ridiculous.”

            “Given the severity of the assault, I think ten years is rather light,” Lydia said.

            “Alleged assault,” Harris snapped in reply.  “You can’t prove anything.”

            “But I don’t need to,” Lydia smiled.  “We’ve been granted a request.  We don’t have to justify it so long as it isn’t unreasonable.  It presents no hardship to Katherine Argent and therefore there is no reason to object.”

            “Forbidding her to speak to or about a participant in Arbitration will limit her ability to assist her family,” Harris countered.

            “No, it won’t,” Lydia disagreed.  “The witness is traditionally primarily questioned by the head of the family and the advocate.”

            Lydia and Harris both turned to face Stiles, Lydia a little smug and Harris more than a little sour.  After a moment Stiles gestured to Lydia.  “I see no reason not to grant this request.  Katherine Argent, you may not speak to or about Derek Hale for the next ten years.  You will submit yourself for the magical binding once Arbitration is completed, but consider yourself required to adhere to it beginning immediately.  If at any point you feel this restriction is impeding your role in Arbitration, you may ask for a time out and address it with me personally.  Do you understand?”

            “Yes, Sheriff.”

            “Good.  Now, in regards to Victoria,” he continued.  “I would like a show of hands from the Argents.  Who among you approve of her presence as second?”  More than a few of the Argents raised their hands, but still less than half.  Stiles gestured to Claire briefly before turning his attention back to Victoria.  “You may not have a role in Arbitration.”

            “I-”

            “This is not a discussion,” he cut her off.  “I advise you to cease your interruptions immediately.  Mr. Argent,” he looked back to Gerard.  “Your second?”

            “My son, Christopher.”

            “And who is the youngest among you?”

            “Allison,” he replied, gesturing to his granddaughter. 

            “And who is your witness?  Who is prepared to testify as to what occurred and represent the opinions, wishes and needs of those who will not be present?”

            “I will act as witness.”

            Gerard turned wide, angry, eyes towards Claire when she spoke, but did not correct her.

            “Is there agreement among you?”  Stiles hesitated, speaking again when the Argents nodded.  “All those who have no role in mediation may now depart.”  The Argents left first, with the Hales only a few steps behind them.  Peter went last, still moving slowly, and with the assistance of his niece Cora.  Stiles turned to address everyone once the others had left.  “Now we will swear the Oaths.”  He closed his eyes and held out both of his hands, palms up.  “I, Godek Stilinski Sheriff of Beacon Hills and member of the Stilinski clan, swear to act with impartiality as I arbitrate the dispute between the Hale family and the Argent family.  I will not let my judgment be clouded by prejudice or personal feelings as I act as Arbiter.”  He was quiet for a few moments as he felt the magic wash over his skin and nodded when he felt the Oath hold. 

            “Advocates,” he called.  They both took one of the hands that Stiles offered.  Stiles intertwined his fingers with theirs, forcing himself not to grimace at Adrian’s overly tight grip.  “Adrian Harris, do you swear to Advocate for the Argent Clan and act in their best interests during this Arbitration?”

            “I swear.”

            “Lydia Martin, do you swear to Advocate for the Hale’s and act in their best interests during this Arbitration.”

            “I swear,” She replied.

            There was nothing but honesty in both of their Oaths, but Stiles felt a tickle of something from magic about Harris.  At first he assumed it was some kind of feedback from what seemed to be the man’s innate hatred of him, but after a moment he identified that it was somehow related to his Oath.  Stiles tightened his grip on both of their hands when the Advocates moved to step away.  Lydia stilled, but Harris did his best to pull his hand out of Stiles’ grip without looking like he was trying to get away.

            “Adrian Harris, did you accept the role as Advocate for the Argent family of your own free will?”

            “I did.”

            “Lydia Martin, did you accept the role as Advocate for the Argent family of your own free will?”

            “I did.”

            Again, there was nothing untruthful in either of their words.  But there was something wrong with Adrian Harris.  It seemed he hadn’t been coerced, but he was overly nervous considering the situation.  He was scared, but Stiles couldn’t discern exactly what he was scared of.  Stiles released their hands after a further moment of hesitation.  “The Oaths are sworn in good faith.”

            Talia and Gerard came next, both of them intentionally keeping their focus on the Sheriff.  The contrast between the feelings of their hands in his was possibly so sharp because werewolves ran hot, but Gerard’s hand felt unusually cold and clammy.  “Talia Hale, do you come to represent your family in this Arbitration in good faith?”

            “ I do.”

            “Gerard Argent, do you come to represent your family in this Arbitration in good faith?”

            “I do.”

            Stiles knew his words were lies before he had finished speaking, but he released their hands and allowed them to move back to their respective families.  His eyes slipped closed and he tired to trace the root of Gerard’s dishonesty, but it led Stiles to both the Argents and the Hales.  Stiles again wondered if Kate had orchestrated the entire thing to fall on her niece and wondered if Gerard had been supportive of or at least aware of such plans.  Stiles took a moment to look at his own father and couldn’t imagine the man ever doing anything that would make Stiles go to such lengths to try to hurt him.  But when he thought of his relationship with his grandfather, it wasn’t so hard to imagine that families might not always love and protect each other. 

            Adam and Chris swore next, easily and honestly, followed by Laura and Kate.  The tension between Talia and Gerard was nothing compared to the tension between Laura and Kate.  Kate wore her anger like amusement coupled with disdain, as though Laura’s obvious hostility was beneath her.  Laura wore her anger plainly, her eyes glowing blue the entire time she stood next to Kate.  Fifteen years ago would have put Derek in high school, still a teenager.  He could find no reason for them to lie, but the idea that Kate would have tried to put an attraction spell on Derek was hard to believe.  Not because he couldn’t imagine her capable, but because what it represented was so reprehensible.  If she was guilty of orchestrating the fire at the Hale house, was it possible this was actually her second attempt to attack the Hales?

            Laura spoke her Oath honestly, but it was woven with such hostility that magic was wary.  Her intentions were not dishonest, but her rage was sharp.  Derek and Claire followed them without incident, and Allison and Cecilia took their vows last.  Alan remained a step behind Cecilia, his hands resting on her shoulders, and added his own Oath to represent the best interests of the minor during the proceedings.  When Allison took her Oath, she made it with such sincerity that it mitigated much of the dishonesty from her grandfather and aunt.  Still, their Oaths were lies and as Stiles stared at the magical strands of Oaths he held in his palms, the contamination from the lies on the Argents side was too strong to proceed.

            “Oaths were given in bad faith, therefore we cannot-” 

             There was a commotion at the door and Stiles had barely registered that his grandfather had entered the room before the older man flicked a spell on his fingertip.  The spell hit Stiles in the face and for a moment he couldn’t breath before it settled over his lips.  The feeling of thick cotton balls in his mouth made him gag briefly, but after a moment he hooked his fingers in the edge of the spell at the corner of his mouth and ripped it away.  Stiles took a deep breath and gave himself a minute to calm before addressing his grandfather.

            “You have no authority to be here.  Leave.”

            “Watch how you speak to the head of your family, boy.  It is you who has no authority here.  You’ve overstepped.  I’m the head of the family, and I will be leading this Arbitration.”

            “There will be no Arbitration.  Oaths were given in bad-”

            Konstany flung another spell at him, but Stiles caught it in his palm and crushed it.  Everyone around them seemed on edge, but nobody moved or spoke.

            “Step aside, Godek.”

            “You cannot interfere in my role as Sheriff.”

            “And I’m not.  But you accepted this role as Stilinski and I am the head of this family.  It is my right to manage this.”

            “No.  I accepted in my role as Sheriff.”

            Konstany’s facial expression never changed, but Stiles knew him well enough to know that he was angry.  “Under penalty of disinheritance, I do forbid you to act as Arbiter.”

            “You cannot forbid me any action that falls under my purview as Sheriff.”

            “And this doesn’t.”

            “It does,” Stiles disagreed.

            “Do not make me repeat myself, Godek.  You will give me the Oaths you’ve collected and depart immediately.  Joachinek, you’ll go with him.”

            “That isn’t going to happen,” Stiles replied.

Still no one else spoke, though Stiles noticed that Talia was keeping the rest of her family behind her.  Her eyes were red, but pinned on Gerard.  The older man, along with his daughter, were watching the proceedings with smug amusement and Stiles suddenly understood why they had been so pleased with his role as Arbiter.  They’d intended for his grandfather to take over the process from the beginning.  Which likely had greatly contributed to their failure to make an Oath in good faith.

“I urge you to rethink this disobedience, Godek.” 

“As Guardian Ad Litem for Cecilia Hale, I’m going to remove the minor from this proceeding until the dispute over the role of Arbiter has been resolved,” Alan said.

“Your services are not needed here, Dr. Deaton,” Konstany replied.  “You will leave, but that girl has sworn an Oath and will remain until Arbitration is completed.”

Alan lifted Cecilia into his arms.  She was silent, but wide-eyed, as she clung to her godfather.  Konstany raised his hands towards them, but Alan turned and whatever spell he flung at them struck only Alan.  He let out a grunt of pain as he crossed one foot in front of the other.

“You have no right to remove a participant,” Konstany warned.  “Put that girl down now.”

Alan ignored him, unwinding his legs to spin in a very slow circle.  Konstany raised his hands again, but Stiles moved in front of them and intercepted the spell just before they disappeared.  There was far more malice in this spell and his talisman reacted.  However the reaction from his Sheriff’s badge was far stronger and it flung the spell back at Konstany with a speed that he was not entirely able to avoid.  He grimaced at the slash that appeared on his upper arm, but ignored the blood that seeped on his shirt.

“Is that how you want this to be, Godek?”

“Dad,” Joachinek interrupted.  “What are you doing?”

Konstany kept his eyes glued to his grandson, but he flicked his fingers in Joachinek’s direction.  Joe hit the nearest wall, pressed against it for a moment as he fought the spell. It only lasted for a few seconds, but when he hit the ground he was groaning in pain and unable to get himself back on his feet.

Stiles made a sweeping motion with his hands, dropping all the Oaths he had held in his hands and ripping into them with his magic until there was nothing left of them.

“I release you from your Oaths.”

“No!” Konstany shouted.

Stiles pointed all the fingers of his right hand at Lydia and then clenched his fist.  She slid across the room as though the floor had been turned into ice.  He grabbed her hand and after ripping his badge off his shirt, he pressed it into her hand.

“Swear to uphold the Law.”

“Stiles, what…”

“Swear!”

“I swear,” she repeated.

Stiles took a deep breath and raised his hands, but Konstany was faster.  But whatever spell he had thrown at his grandson never touched Stiles, because Derek stepped in front of him and took it directly to his chest.  He collapsed soundlessly, as though he was a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Konstany sneered at him, the first time his facial expression had actually changed since he entered the room.  “Seriously?  Still?  That’s just pathetic.”

Talia roared with such ferocity that the windows shook, but she grabbed Laura when she tried to go to Derek.  Stiles dropped to his knees and rolled Derek onto his back.  His eyes fluttered open briefly, but he wasn’t able to keep them open.  His whimpers quieted when Stiles put a hand to his cheek.

“What’s just pathetic?”

“The beast fancies himself in love with you, even after all these years.  Its pathetic and disgusting.”

Stiles swallowed thickly because he suddenly understood and caught Derek’s gaze as he struggled to open his eyes, “Why did you never tell me?  Why not speak to me directly?”

“Tradition,” he whispered.  “And then I couldn’t, he made sure of that, and I had no reason believe you’d ever want me to.  I thought you knew.  I thought it was what you wanted.”

“This is touching, truly,” Kate said, her honeyed voice dripping with sarcasm, “But-”

Konstany turned his unblinking gaze on her, “You should know better than to get between quarreling witches, little girl.”

Claire forcibly pulling her away and pushing her towards her brother prevented whatever reply she would have given.  Stiles kept his hand on Derek’s face for a moment longer.

“Derek?”

“Sheriff?” he whispered.

“Don’t call me that.  Lydia Martin is the Sheriff, for now at least.”  He ignored the choking sound Lydia made at his proclamation. 

“What should I call you?”

“Stiles.  My friends call me Stiles.”

“Stiles,” Derek repeated.

Stiles smiled, “You’re going to be okay.”  He removed both of the talismans he wore and dropped them on Derek’s chest before standing, easily avoiding the werewolves clumsy attempt to grab him.

Konstany shook his head, “You might think trying to protect him is sweet or noble, but you’re just making it easier for me to hurt you.”

“I might not have the family protection,” Stiles agreed, “But I also don’t have its restrictions.  You were not only a traitor to the Office of Sheriff, but you’re a traitor to our clan.”

“You think you can challenge me, boy?  Grandson or not, that isn’t something your going to walk away from,” Konstany warned.

“Stiles,” Joe groaned, trying again to force himself to his feet.

Konstany kicked him hard in the side just as Joe had managed to get to his knees and Stiles lost the calm that he had been affecting for the last couple of minutes and attacked his grandfather.  The spell that hit him was bright and for a moment it seemed like nothing happened.  But then Konstany took a step closer to Stiles and abruptly he began to scream.  For a moment Stiles was terrified that something about gone wrong with the spell, but after a moment he realized that the screams were from anger and not pain.

“You lie to me at your own peril and the risk of losing your magic.”

Konstany shook his head slowly, “I will put you down for this.”

“Maybe, but you can’t do anything until you’ve answered five of my questions.  Truthfully.” 

“Ask,” Konstany growled.

“Did you lose your position as Sheriff because of your negligence when Katherine Argent attacked Derek Hale with an attraction spell?”

“Partially, yes,” he admitted tersely.

“Why else?”

“I gave her the spell,” Konstany admitted through clenched teeth.  “I forbid him to approach you when Talia Hale told me her son thought you were his mate.  I bound all those who knew to…painful consequences should they ignore my decision.”

“Including my father?”

“Yes.” Konstany smiled a little at that announcement.  “Not that it was difficult.  He was never much of a witch.  That was three, Godek.  You have two left.”

But Stiles wasn’t particularly concerned with the amount of questions left.  There were only two more things he wanted to know.  “Were you involved in coercing Adrian Harris to participate as their advocate?”

“No.  His interest in disrupting the process is because he supplied her with the information about accelerants that she needed for the fire.”

The Hale’s visibly reacted to the information, but there was something else that occurred to Stiles.  He didn’t want to know the answer, though in some ways asking the question was more a confirmation of his sudden gut wrenching suspicions.  “Did you provide the ward they used as part of the attack on the Hale house?”

“Yes,” Konstany replied and without messing a beat he sent a barrage of spells at his grandson that were too numerous to fully avoid.  Stiles shielded himself from the nastiest of them, but one hit him and immediately he began to lose feeling in his fingertips.  His grandfather swatted away all the spells Stiles flung at him as though they were nothing more than flies, closing most of the distance between them.  There was movement among the Hales and the Argents, but Konstany gestured with his elbows and fire sprang up from the ground to keep them away.  The flames were precariously close to a still prone Derek, but Laura darted forward and was able to pull him away.

Konstany shook his head, “Such a waste.  I had such plans for you, but I suppose I can make do with one of your cousins.”

Stiles tried to raise his hands, but the numbness had spread up past his elbows.  Konstany had just put his hands around Stiles throat when Derek began to howl.  He caught sight of Talia jumping over the flames on her side and Allison copying her from where the Argents stood.  Stiles reared back and slammed his forehead against his grandfather’s face.  Konstany roared in pain as blood spilled from his noise, but he didn’t release Stiles throat.  He gathered up the heat from the magical fires and centralized it with his mouth.  The glob of spit that landed in his grandfather’s eyes was burning, and with a scream of pain he finally released Stiles.  Both Talia and Allison went for him, Allison armed with a knife and Talia with her claws, but Joe beat both of them.  He had managed to get to his knees and draw his gun to aim it at Konstany’s throat.

“I may not be much of a witch,” he spat, “But I’ve got damn good aim.  Just give me a reason, old man.”

“Put the gun down, Joachinek,” Konstany commanded.

But Joe shook his head, “There is a power when you speak the truth, it has consequences.  It was you who taught me that.  But you’re so far gone from that you should be that you don’t even feel it.”

“Feel what?”

“You’re no longer the head of the family.  You’ve lost your hold on the position, just like you lost your hold on the Office of Sheriff.”

“You aren’t getting out of this room,” Lydia said from her side of the flame.  “You might be able to stop one of us, but you can’t protect yourself from all of us.”

“Listen, you prissy little bitch,” Konstany began.

“I’d watch your mouth if I were you.  Whatever the fuck is going on brought me back here and if you such much as make her frown, I will slice you in half.”

Konstany turned and caught sight of the man leaning casually in the doorway.  Pure hatred spread across his face when he caught sight of Jackson Whittemore, but the threat of the Kanima finally forced him to stop and the fires died down. 

“Honey, I’m the Sheriff,” Lydia said with a wide grin.  “You can’t threaten a man like that in front of me.”

Jackson raised an eyebrow at her, but whatever sarcastic quip he intended to offer was halted when he caught sight of the badge in her hand, “…the fuck?  I leave for two days and everything goes ape shit.”

“I’ll have you know, I would make an excellent Sheriff.”

Jackson smirked at her, “Yeah, but do you really want to be Sheriff?”

“Hell no,” she replied, tossing the badge back to Stiles.  “Don’t give this thing to me again.  It has a weight to it.”

“That it does,” Stiles agreed, his voice slightly scratchy, as he pinned the badge back to his shirt.  The magic of the Office swirled around him, and when there was no reprimand for his actions against his grandfather, he relaxed.  “Arbitration has failed.  Adrian Harris, you’re under arrest for aiding and abetting arson and attempted murder.  Kosntany Stilinski, you’re under arrest for aiding and abetting around and attempted murder, and unlawful distribution of a dangerous spell.”

“But I didn’t know-” Harris interrupted.

Stiles glared at him, “You have the right to remain silent.  I suggest you do so.  You have the right to an attorney or advocate.”  He turned to the Argents.  “Gerard Argent you’re under arresting for conspiracy to commit arson and murder.  Katherine Argent, you’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit arson and murder, assault of a minor by use of an illegal spell attraction spell.  Other charges related to these crimes may be added in the next forty-eight hours.  You both have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney or advocate.”

Processing the four of them took hours, and Stiles only left once Talia assured him that Derek would be okay and Chris and Allison promised to take his father directly to Alan Deaton.  Once the four of them were behind bars, with his grandfather contained under a magic nullifying charm, Stiles made his way to Alan’s office to check on his father.  He was asleep, and though Alan recommended he not be moved, he promised the man would fully recover.  Alan left Stiles to his silent vigil with a gentle reminder to use the creams on his burns from the day of the fire.  His stomach grumbled and though he realized he’d missed both lunch and dinner, he couldn’t bring himself to leave his father.  Despite the discomfort of the chair he occupied, Stiles had just begun to drift off the sleep when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

“This is the Sheriff,” he answered, his voice still slightly scratchy.

“Stiles, it’s Talia,” the Alpha said quietly.  “I was just calling to check on you and your father.”

“We’re both fine, thank you.  Is everyone in your family alright?”

“Yes.”

He cleared his throat, “Even Derek?”

“Derek is fine,” she promised gently.  “Alan came by to check on him when he brought Cecilia home.”

“Good.  That’s good,” Stiles managed, at a total loss for what to say to her.

“We’d like to talk to you, I think you know what about,” Talia said.

“I don’t want to leave my father.”

“Of course,” she replied.  “When he’s better.”

“Um, yeah,” Stiles managed.  “Maybe.  I don’t know, uh, in a couple of days?”

Joe woke up the next morning, well enough to go home.  A couple of days passed, and then a few more, and still Stiles didn’t contact Talia.  He read over Cecilia’s letter every morning and her words made him smile, but he didn’t know what to do.  He might have been infatuated with Derek in high school, but being mates was something he wasn’t prepared for.

“Kid,” Joe said in the middle of a quiet dinner nearly two weeks after the failed Arbitration.  “Don’t make him suffer.  He doesn’t deserve this.  Be upfront with him about it.”

“I…”

Joe tilted his head, “Unless you aren’t just putting off rejecting him?”

“I don’t want to reject him,” Stiles admitted quietly.  “But I don’t love him.  I don’t know him.”

“So?”

Stiles shook his head, “I don’t want to lead him on.  It would be cruel to let things develop between us and say no later.  I can’t do that to him.”

Joe shook his head, “Back when Derek first realized you were his mate, Talia came and asked your grandfathers permission for Derek to spend more time with you.  What you’re afraid will hurt him was exactly what he wanted from you.  He wanted to get to know you more and see where it might lead.  He’s a good kid, son.  You should go talk to him.  Hiding won’t make it go away.”

“Maybe he wants something different.  Maybe he doesn’t even want me anymore.”

Joe snorted, “That boy has been making cow eyes at you for the last fifteen years.  I doubt that’s an issue, but you wont know until you go talk to him.”

Resolved, Stiles spent the next weekend trying to catch up with Derek.  He dressed casually, intentionally not wearing his badge, and started at the hotel that Hale’s had taken over the duration of the construction on their new house.  Laura and Peter were the only ones he could find, having a quiet lunch in the hotel restaurant.  Peter was mostly healed, but still not up to full strength but he seemed to be accepting having his niece watch over him with mostly good humor.

“Sheriff,” Peter inclined his head and then harshly elbow Laura when she remained silent.

“Am I supposed to make nice with the man who’s hurt my brother so badly?” Laura demanded.

Peter growled lowly, “Don’t be obtuse, Laura.  You’re suppose to make nice with the man your mother, the Alpha,” he said pointedly, “declared an ally after he saved your entire family from burning to death.”

The smile she offered at her Uncle's words was all teeth, “Sheriff.”

“Stiles is fine,” he replied after a moment.  “I’m not here on official business or anything.  Is, uh, Derek here?”

Laura was quiet for a moment, her fake smile replaced by faint interest, “We haven’t seen much of my brother since Arbitration.  Why are you looking for him?”

“I’d like to discuss…things…with him,” Stiles said.

“What things?”

“Laura,” Peter hissed.  “My God.”

“Derek and I are less than a year apart,” Laura said, half talking to her Uncle but mostly addressing Stiles.  “We’ve always been very close.  I dislike seeing him upset.”

“It isn’t my goal to upset him.”

“Isn’t it?  You’ve never cared before.”

Stiles scowled at her, “You know very well that I wasn’t aware of the situation before.  I think I made it clear that I didn’t know and what my grandfather did…I would never have wanted that.”

“You aren’t responsible for his actions, Sheriff,” Peter said gently.  “And if you’re here to apologize for him, that certainly isn’t necessary.  None of us blame you for anything.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow in Laura’s direction.

Peter sighed, “Laura is angry.”

“Damn right I am,” she replied.

“What do you want from me?” Stiles said.  “Your family was greatly wronged, but not by me.”

“By your family,” Laura corrected.

“By my grandfather,” Stiles corrected, “And he’s going to be dealing with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life.”

“It isn’t enough.”

“What would be enough?” Stiles asked.

Laura was quiet for a moment, “Your father-”

“Laura-” Peter tried to interrupt. 

“You have no idea how lucky you are with your mother as the Alpha of your pack,” Stiles snapped.  “You have no idea what its like to be afraid of the head of your family and not be able to do anything about it.  I assure you, Derek was not the only one who suffered because of my grandfather.  Do you have any idea the kind of magic it takes to bind a witch to keep a secret from kin?  Whatever cruelty he showed to you is nothing…” Stiles voice caught, “Is nothing to what he did to his own son.  So I’ll ask you again, what would be enough?”

Peter’s eyes were wide with surprise, but none of Laura’s anger had faded.  “You’ve got a lot of balls to stand here and play the victim.  The head of your family should submit himself to our family for judgment.  We have a right to restitution for the wrongs your family has done to mine.  We are owed satisfaction.”

“Very well,” Stiles said quietly.  He removed his talisman from around his neck and dropped it on the table beside her hand.  “When should I present myself?”

“What?” Laura asked.

“My grandfathers dig about my father not being much of a witch was not entirely inaccurate.”

“But…but he was Sheriff!” Laura protested.

“He held on to that position through sheer stubbornness until I was prepared to take it from him.  When my grandfather lost his position of head of the family, it went to me.  Not my father.”

Peter exhaled slowly, “Laura, what have you done?”

“I didn’t-”

“My promise that I’ll appear,” Stiles gestured to the talisman.  “Contact me when you’re prepared.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last time Stiles ever heard his mother laugh was when she helped him make his talisman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't planned to update again so soon, but I'm not totally sure if I'll have access to the internet for the next few days so.... enjoy!
> 
> Thanks to all the lovely reviews. I'm so happy to hear that you guys enjoy this story

**[The Hale Family](http://isa-iadel.tumblr.com/post/62979418893/the-hale-family-for-my-story-generations-the)  
**

**[The Argent Family](http://isa-iadel.tumblr.com/post/63208748950/the-argent-family-for-part-2-5-of-my-story)  
**

**[The Stilinski Family](http://isa-iadel.tumblr.com/post/63713917433/the-stilinski-family-for-my-story-generations)  
**

**Generations**

**Part Four**

            Stiles left the hotel on foot, completely disregarding that he’d arrived in his old jeep, and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked back towards town.  He wanted to be angry with Laura, but it was impossible to deny that she might have a point.  His family had done a great deal of wrong to hers.  If they felt they needed restitution for that, how could he deny them?  His grandfather had been horrible to them, well beyond simply trying to keep one of the pack away from his mate.  He’d tried to hurt them, to destroy them, and had nearly succeeded.  Konstany’s actions were unforgivable, and that he or his father might now face consequences for them made him hate the old man a little more.

            He hated his grandfather with a sort of ferocity that made his magic feel like electricity.  For a moment he thought it would explode out of him, but his feet brought him to a small park and he suddenly recalled that his grandfather had brought him there as a child to play on the swings.  The juxtaposition of the memories calmed him, though did not make him inclined to forgive the man, and Stiles dropped onto a swing in the empty park and dragged his feet through the sand as he swung slowly. 

            He let the chain twist and untwist, continuing until he was almost cross eyed with dizziness.  Approaching figures caught his attention and once his vision cleared, Stiles sighed to himself to see Cecilia sprinting towards him with her father trailing at a more sedate pace.  Cecilia climbed up on the swing beside him.

            “Hi, Sheriff!”

            Stiles managed a smile, “Hi, Cece.”

            She glanced quickly at her still approaching my father before asking quietly, “Did my letter help?”

            “I appreciated it a lot.  Thank you for writing it for me.”

            Cece grinned and began to pump her legs, “We’re gonna rebuild the house.  Did you know that?  Mama said I could pick any color I like for my room.  I was thinking that shade of blue that is sort green at the same time.”

            “That sounds nice,” Stiles agreed.  “Blue is my favorite color.”

            Adam joined them, nodding his head politely.  “Sheriff.  How are you?”

            “Well, thank you.  Yourself?”

            Adam smiled, “Fine.”

            “The Sheriff’s favorite color is blue,” Cece piped up.  “Sheriff, are you gonna hang out with us?  Everyone else is coming, but I wanted to swing so we came early.”

            Stiles stood up so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet.  The absolute last thing he wanted to do was spend any time with the Hale’s as a group and despite his earlier resolution, he was no longer prepared to see Derek.  And now that he thought of it, it wasn’t appropriate for him to speak with any of them until the restitution had been settled.  More than anything he wanted to be alone and away from everyone else.

            “Sorry, I can’t, Cece.”

            She huffed a disappointed sigh, “Maybe next time then.”

            Stiles rubbed his chest, missing the comfort of holding onto his talisman already.  “Maybe.”

            Adam’s eyes followed his gesture, widening a little when he saw the talisman was gone.  His eyes brightened with hope and Stiles’ face burned, because he knew what the man was assuming it meant.

            “Have you seen Derek then?” he asked quietly.

            “No.”

            Adam tilted his head, “You haven’t?  But where is you-” he cut himself off abruptly.  “Forgive me.  That was terribly rude of me.”

            “It’s fine,” Stiles said in a rush, desperate to leave without seeming like he was fleeing.

            “Are you okay, Sheriff?  You seem a little…disheveled?” Adam commented gently.

            “I have to go!  I can’t- I shouldn’t even be talking to you.” Stiles blurted.

            “Sheriff?”

            But Stiles couldn’t take it anymore and he was running, he nearly smashed into Cora as he hadn’t noticed her approaching, before taking off away from the park and down the street.  Still panting for breath, Stiles pulled his phone from his pocket, nearly dropping it, and managed to call Scott.

            “Sup?”

            “Where are you?” Stiles demanded.

            “What’s are wrong?” Scott demanded, the calm gone from his voice.  “Are you okay?”

            “Where are you?” Stiles repeated.

            “I’m with the Alpha,” he said quickly.  “We’re going over the plans for cleaning up the property and then we’re all meeting in the park.  Do you want to join us?”  Scott waited for a brief moment, “Stiles?  Everything okay?  You wanna join?”

            “I have to go!” Stiles blurted, and hung up the phone.  It began to ring moment later, but Stiles switched it to silent and showed it back in his pocket.  He continued forward, walking at an almost shuffle instead of running, and tried to convince himself he’d done the right thing.  After everything his father had suffered, Stiles would never let him stand for judgment.  And as the head of the family, it was now his responsibility to handle such things.  Yet he felt off keel without his talisman and disheartened where he had previously felt something like tentative hope about his relationship with Derek.  He supposed he could have ignored Laura, he didn’t have to accept such a request, but his grandfather had damaged their honor and Stiles was bound to try and repair that wherever he could.  His thoughts, his fears, of what they might demand were getting a little out of control, and Stiles went to Lydia’s place.

            She answered the door in Jackson’s old lacrosse shirts and a worn t-shirt, relaxing when she saw it was Stiles.  However when she got a good look at his expression, worry spread over her face.

            “Stiles?”

            “Laura Hale asked for judgment and I agreed to restitution,” he said in rush.  “What if they ask for my magic?  Or something from my father?  I can’t… I can’t…  I gave them my talisman as my promise.  What if I can’t fulfill their demands and I don’t get it back?”

            Lydia took him by the hands and pulled him into her apartment, “Stiles…”

            When he didn’t reply, she steered him over to the couch and pushed his shoulders until he sat.  She kept hold of his hands, but neither of them spoke for a while.  She patiently waited until he was calmer before releasing his hands.  “You didn’t have to agree.”

            “Of course I did,” Stiles whispered.  “What my grandfather did to them was unforgivable.”

            “You aren’t responsible for his actions.”

            “I am,” Stiles replied.  “He did them in the name of my family.”

            Lydia sighed a little, “You witches have always had a strong since of honor.”

            “We can’t all jut shriek at our problems to make them go away.”  Lydia rolled her eyes, but the old joke made her smile a little. Stiles rubbed his hands over his face.  “Fuck.  I’m sorry I just showed up.  I don’t want to bother you guys.”

            Lydia waved her hand impatiently, “Jackson isn’t here.”

            “What, again?”

            “No,” Lydia smiled a little, “He’ll be in Beacon Hills for a while, I think.  He just went over to help his mother with some stuff around the house.”

            “Hmm.”

            “Did you come here to ask me to Advocate for you?  You must know the answer is yes.”

            “I don’t want an Advocate.”

            “You don’t want an Advocate?” Lydia repeated dully.  “Stiles.”

            “I don’t,” he insisted.

            “Please don’t try to tell me you're punishing yourself for a situation that is in no way your fault?”

            “This wasn’t supposed to happen.  I was trying to find Derek and Laura just…  She blindsided me.  I was expecting this.”

            Lydia’s gaze was sharp, “Of course you weren’t.  Talia Hale declared you an ally.  It is odd that her heir would demand satisfaction.” 

            Stiles shrugged tiredly, “Is it okay if I hide here for a while?  I don’t want to talk to anyone.”

            Lydia winced a little, “I’m expecting Allison over in a bit.”  Her expression suddenly brightened, “Don’t tell Scott, but Allison bought a ring and is planning to propose.”

            Stiles laughed at that, “Well don’t tell Allison, but Scott bought a ring and is planning to propose.”

            Lydia laughed as well, “But, yeah,” she said.  “You can stay here if you like.  I could call Allison and say I’ll go to her place instead.”

            Stiles managed to keep some of his smile, at least a little cheered up to know that things would likely soon be settled between Scott and Allison.  “Nah.  It’s probably better if I don’t spend the day hiding away from my problems.”

            Lydia took his hands, “Stiles, Arbitration was…rough.  It hasn’t been that long.  It’s okay to need time to yourself.  To decompress.  And try not to worry too much about the Hale’s.  You know Talia Hale.  Do you really think she would demand something that would hurt you?”

            “No, I guess not,” Stiles admitted.

            “And think about what I said.  You need an Advocate,” she insisted. 

            “I’ll think it over.”

            Stiles stood and hugged Lydia, laughing when she swatted at him after he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.  It was quite the long walk back to his father’s house, but he used the time to consider Lydia’s words and try to let his anxiety drain away.  He was exhausted when he got to his father’s house, though it wasn’t even yet dinnertime.  He fumbled the key in the lock, but suddenly stilled and turned around.  

            Derek stood on the bottom step of the porch, dressed in dark slacks and a nice shirt, and holding a bouquet of flowers.

            “Stiles,” he greeted, with a slightly shy smile.  “I just wanted to give you these,” he shook the flowers a little, but his eyes widened with regret when the movement caused some of the petals to fall off.  “And, uh, no pressure or anything…but I was wondering if you might like to have dinner with me sometime soon?  We don’t even have to talk about… you know,” he said in rush, “But I’d like to spend more time with you.  I’d like for us to know each other better and then maybe…and then maybe we could talk about _it_.  But only if you wanted to.”

            “I can’t talk to you,” Stiles said regretfully.  “I’m sorry.”  He made an aborted movement to grab his talisman, and winced when Derek’s eyes followed the gesture.

            Derek clearly tried very hard, but did not particularly succeed, to keep the panic from his expression, “You got your talisman back after Arbitration, didn’t you?”

            “I did,” Stiles confirmed.  “But I…” he trailed off helplessly.

            Derek steeled himself, “You what?”

            “God damn it,” Stiles exploded, “Why couldn’t I have found you earlier?”

            “I don’t understand?”

            “I can’t talk to you!”

            “Oh.  I see.”

            “No you don’t,” Stiles snapped.

            Derek wouldn’t meet his gaze, “Will you at least take the flowers?  I got them for you and I just-”

            Stiles met Derek on the bottom stairs and took the flowers from him, letting his fingers brush across the other man’s hand.  “Derek, I can’t talk to you.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

            His eyes widened, and flashed blue, “Did he-”

            “ _He_ didn’t do anything.” 

            “But someone did?”

            Stiles groaned, “I can’t talk to you.”

            “I want to help,” Derek said earnestly, “Um, can you give me some kind of clue?”

            “You’ll find out on your own soon enough,” Stiles promised.  He started to move again, but Derek caught his hands.

            “Will you-”

            “Derek,” Stiles sighed, “I can’t, okay?”

            Derek shook his head, “Just wait.  I get that you can’t talk to me, but… But when you can, may I ask again what I came here to ask you?”

            Stiles nodded slowly.

            Derek smiled, his entire face brightening, and Stiles couldn’t help but return it.  He released his hands and took a step back, but then darted forward quickly to take Stiles’ hands again and press a quick kiss to his knuckles, before releasing his hands and vanishing down the street.

            Stiles found his father waiting for him, his expression happier than it had been since Arbitration ended.  His gaze lingered on the flowers before noticing Stiles’ talisman was gone.  He squeezed Stiles by the shoulders.  “Derek is a good man, Stiles.  I’m happy for you.  I should have…” he lowered his head briefly, “I should have fought harder for you.”

            “No,” Stiles denied.  “I always knew that you shielded me from him, but I never knew how much.  I can handle myself, dad, and I’ve been able to for along time.”

            “Privilege of being your father,” he said, still smiling.  “I’ll never stop trying to protect you.”  He tapped the spot on Stiles chest where the talisman usually rested.  “Is he keeping that one or just wearing it until you make him one?  I could… I could help, if you like.  I’m not bad with talismans,” he said sheepishly.

            “It isn’t what you think, dad.”

            Joe’s expression turned sly, “I wasn’t born yesterday, kid.  I know what it means when you give that away to someone.  I remember when I gave mine to your mother,” there was a wistfulness in his voice, but the usual painful ache was absent, “I was so happy when she accepted it, I couldn’t stop smiling for days.  She never took it off, you know.”

            Stiles smiled a little, “I know.  I remember.  But I didn’t give my talisman to Derek.”

            Joe tilted his head, “Where is it then?”

            “Laura Hale has it as a token of my promise to appear for judgment.”

            The smile fell from his face, “No.  Why….why would she do that?”

            Stiles shrugged.

            Joe sighed quietly, “Very well, I’ll summon the clan.  We need to get together everyone anyway after what happened with your grandfather.”

            “No.”

            “No?” Joe questioned.

            “Well, yes, we need to get together,” Stiles agreed.  “But they don’t need to be here for this.  I don’t want them here in case I’m stripped of my role or my office or… or my magic.”

            Joe inhaled sharply, “Stiles.  If we’ve been called for judgment, everyone must be present.”

            “The family wasn’t called.”

            For a moment he was confused, but Stiles watched as the understanding spread across his face and it was terrible.  At first he looked like someone had struck him, then his face went pale and Stiles was briefly worried he was going to be sick.  “They called for the head of the family to appear for judgment because they thought it was me.”

            “Yes.”

            “I’ll appear in your place.”

            “No.”

            “This is my responsibility,” Joe argued.

            “I’m the head of the family,” Stiles said quietly, “Unless you dispute that?”

            “Don’t be ridiculous,” Joe snapped.  “But you aren’t offering retribution for something that wasn’t your fault.”

            “It wasn’t your fault either, and you’ve already suffered enough because of it.  Fifteen years, dad,” Stiles felt himself shouting.  “I’m aware of the consequences of that kind of magic.  I-  He should never have…” Stiles sagged forward, accepting the hug his father suddenly pulled him into to.  “Dad, I’m so sorry.  I’m sorry that happened, I’m sorry I never noticed.  I’m sorry it was because of me.”

            “Oh, kid,” Joe said quietly.  “Listen to me, okay?”

            “I’m listening,” Stiles mumbled, from where his face was pressed against this father’s shoulder.

            “You aren’t responsible for what he did.”

            “People keep saying that, but I-”

            “You were a child, Stiles,” Joe insisted.  “Barely a teenager.”

            “I should have protected you.”

            Joe sighed and hugged him hard, “So stubborn.  Just like she was.  Even if you had somehow managed to figure it out, there wasn’t anything that could have been done.  It wasn’t pleasant,” Joe admitted, “But I’m okay, Stiles.  I’m fine.”

          “He hurt you because of me.  He hurt the Hale’s because of me.”

          “No, kid,” Joe denied.  “He did those things because he's a malicious bastard.”  Some of the calm left his voice briefly, “He had plans for you and whatever those plans were, Derek would have been in the way.”

          “What plans?” Stiles asked, lifting his head a little.

          “I don’t know,” Joe admitted.  “But I’m glad I don’t have to worry about it anymore.  He’s not getting out of jail.  Ever.”

         “No,” Stiles agreed, “He’s not.”  He straightened, “Still.  I want you to know that I understand what you did for me and I’m-” he cut himself off at his father’s glare and cleared his throat before speaking again, “I’m grateful.”

            Joe managed a smile, “So, I take it Derek doesn’t know?”

            “No,” Stiles agreed.  “I think Laura’s demand was more spur of the moment than family plan.”

            “It was Laura, not Talia?”

            Stiles nodded.

            Joe sighed, “Well, it isn’t entirely without merit.  I knew some of the details of what happened because he lost the Office of Sheriff because of it,” Joe explained.  “But I didn’t realize that he’d supplied Kate Argent with the spell.  I thought he was just abusive and then negligent because of his prejudice against the Hale’s.  He’s never liked their kind, but it only got worse after Talia spoke to him about Derek.”

            “Do you know exactly what happened?”

            “More or less,” Joe replied.  “Kate Argent somehow managed to get Derek alone.  I think… It wasn’t long after Talia had spoken to your grandfather and the poor kid spent months looking like he was falling apart.  He was vulnerable and it was probably pretty obvious to anyone who saw him.  So she got him alone, but the Hale’s had been worried about Derek and one of the family had been keeping an eye on him fairly regularly so they noticed he was missing fairly quickly.  It was Laura who found them and she went wild.  The only reason she didn’t kill Kate Argent was because your grandfather _happened_ to be neared by and arrested her.  He wasn’t gentle when he subdued her with magic.  The Hale’s applied for a restraining order against Kate, and your grandfather laughed in Talia Hale’s face when he ripped the paperwork in half.  Kate left town, Laura got community service for assault and Alan Deaton spent nearly a week removing the part of the spell Kate had managed to stick to Derek.  Your grandfather lost his hold on the Office of Sheriff shortly after Kate left town and I took over.  I let Gerard know that she wasn’t welcome back in town, but I didn’t have the ability to cast a restraining spell.”

            “But why didn’t Chris Argent say anything when Kate came for a visit?”

            “I don’t think he knew what happened last time she was here.  Your grandfather kept the whole thing pretty quiet.  And Chris hasn’t been particularly close with his family since the divorce.”

            “Hmm.”

            Joe sighed a little, “Did you pick an Advocate?”

            “Lydia volunteered.”

            Joe nodded.

            “I declined.”

            “Who better than Lydia?  That girl is smart as a whip and a good friend to you.  She’ll represent you well.”

            “I don’t want an Advocate.”

            “Stiles.”

            “I know,” he said.  “Lydia yelled at me about it too.  She’ll probably show up to sass at everyone regardless of what I say.”

            Joe smiled, “Probably.  You’ll been friends a long time, and you did her a good turn once.”

            “It wasn’t a big deal.”

            “You helped save the life of the man she loves,” Joe corrected, “I doubt she’d agree that wasn’t a big deal.”

            Stiles smiled a little, but whatever comment he would have made was cut off when his phone began to ring.  He sighed a little as he took it out of his pocket.  “I was a little abrupt with Scott earlier.  I should probably…”

            Joe waved his away, “Go on.”

            “Hey, Scott, sorry about earlier.  I-”

            “Are you home?  I’m turning onto your street.”

            “Uh, I’m at my dads.”

            “Shit,” Scott swore, “Okay. I’m turning around.  I’m five minutes away.  Meet me on the front porch.”  He hung up before Stiles could reply.

            “….Okay?”  Stiles twisted his hand and his sidearm and badge appeared in it.  He settled his gun at his side and pinned his badge to the outside of his jacket.  “Dad,” he called after the man, “I’m going somewhere with Scott.”

            “See you later,” his dad called.

            Stiles went to wait on the porch, and Scott pulled into the driveway well before the five minutes were up.  He was driving again the minute Stiles was buckled and Stiles felt his badge react as he glanced at the speedometer.

            “Dude, you can’t speed like that with me in the car.  Where are we going?”

            “The park.”

            “Scott, slow down,” Stiles insisted.  “I’m going to have to give you a ticket.”

            “Its fine.  You can totally ticket me,” Scott agreed.  “But we’ve got to get there as fast as possible.”

            “Dude, what?”  Stiles shook his head, “Wait, the park?  Are the Hale’s still there?  I can’t be around them!”

            Scott rolled his eyes, “You’ve got to talk to him sometime.”

            “Scott,” Stiles began, “Laura Hale-”

            Scott slammed on the breaks so hard that only the seat belt prevent Stiles from smashing his head against the glove compartment.  Before Stiles could yell at him, Cora had opened the passenger door and unbuckled him by ripping the seat belt.  She propelled him forward into the park.

            “Cora, I-”

            “We need to hurry.  I’ve never seen my brother lose control like this.  You need to calm him down.”

            “I can’t talk to him!  I can’t talk to any of you,” Stiles objected.

            The park was fairly crowded, far more so than it had been earlier, but after a moment Stiles realized that most people were backing away very slowly.  Two figures stood near the picnic tables, arguing, and though Laura hadn’t shifted, Derek had.  His claws were visible from a distance and from the way his shoulders were rippling it seemed that he was shifting back and forth rapidly.  Whatever Laura said seemed to tip the balance, and Derek shifted into his werewolf form, and kept going until he was in wolf form.  Stiles didn’t realize he was running until Cora shouted his name and didn’t realize that Derek was the size of a small pony until he crashed into him.  The wolf whined, halting his attempt to spring at his sister, and curled around Stiles to shield him as they hit the ground.  His teeth sank into the sleeve of Stiles jacket and he began to drag him away and towards the woods, growling when some members of the pack tried to approach them.

            “Derek, stop.”

            Derek whined again at Stiles words, but stilled.  He released Stiles’ jacket and sniffed around his neck and face.  He ceased, but didn’t growl, when Talia approached.  His ears flattened and his head lowered at her disapproving expression and he did nothing as she helped Stiles to his feet.

            “Sheriff.”  She sighed and Stiles realized that was she holding his talisman.  It rankled a little, to see someone that wasn’t family touching it, but he said nothing to her.  “I’d like to give this back to you.”

            “I have nothing else to give you as bond.”

            “You think your word isn’t good enough?”

            “It’s tradition.”

            “Well it doesn’t matter,” she said.  “Laura spoke hastily and we’ve had words.  We don’t want this.”

            “My family, it seems,” Stiles said quietly, “Has little honor left.  I won’t sully the little that remains and shame whatever generations come after me by going back on my word.  I promised to stand for judgment, and I will.”

            Derek whined, but quieted when Stiles buried his hands in the thick fur around his neck.  “It’s going to be okay.”

            “Sheriff,” Talia began.

            “I can’t talk to you,” Stiles said.  “I shouldn’t be here, but I don’t think Scott knew when he got me.”  He sighed and titled Derek’s head up.  “You look beautiful like this.  I know things have been really rough, and I know a lot of it was my fault.  But do you think you can keep it together until judgment?”

            Derek licked his hand, which Stiles took as assent.  “Good.”  He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around Derek’s neck.  “I have to go.”  He forced himself to let go, dropping his arms to his sides and getting back to his feet.

            “Sheriff.”

            Stiles met Talia’s gaze.

            “Tomorrow at noon,” she said.  “We don’t want to drag this out.”

            “Where?”

            “Our property,” she said.

            “I’ll see you then.”

            Everyone watched him as he walked away, but not even Scott approached him.  Judging by the expression on his face, someone had filled him in on Laura’s request for retribution.  He stopped for a moment and stared at Scott, realizing that as a member of the Hale pack, he probably couldn’t talk to him either.  It might only be for another day, but Scott was his best friend and he wanted his company more than anyone else.  Scott took a step forward when Stiles hesitated, but Peter halted him with a simple touch to his arm.

            He was just beginning the long walk to his father’s house from the park when the old pulled over and rolled the window down.  “Scott texted me,” Joe said.  “Want a ride?”

            Stiles nodded as he slid into the front seat.  “I know I said I was only going to stay with you for a couple of days, but can I-”

            “Stay as long as you like.  You don’t need to ask.”

            “Thanks, dad.”

            Stiles flopped back onto the couch when they got back to his father’s house and was too tired to argue when he overheard his father ordering pizza for dinner.  The pile of vegetables on top of the pizza when it arrived made Stiles smile and if only to stop his father from looking so worried, he managed to eat a few slices.  They watched the baseball game together, quieter than usual but it still did a lot of lessen his tension.  Stiles went to bed early, awake for long hours after he’d turned out the light, and tried not to image what things would have been like if his grandfather hadn’t interfered.  More likely than not, especially given Stiles almost obsessive interest when he was a teenager, they would have been happily mated for years by now.

            Despite Stiles attempt to sneak out of the house that next morning, his father was waiting for him at the front door.  At the stubborn look on his face, Stiles didn’t bother to argue with the man.  Neither of them spoke until they reached the Hale property and before the got out of the car, Joe tried to put his own talisman around Stiles’ neck.

            “No, dad.”

            “I’d feel better if you wore it.”

            Stiles smiled, “I know, but my first act as head of the family can’t be with me hiding behind you.”

            Joe said nothing, but walked at his side as they approached the remains of the Hale house.  Everything had been cleared except the foundation and as they approached and Stiles found himself staring at the nearly fifty members of the Hale pack, Stiles was glad his father was with him.  A figure broke away from the Hale pack and moved to stand on his other side.

            Stiles rolled his eyes, “I told you not to come.  I don’t want an Advocate.”

            “I know,” Lydia replied, glancing at the sheer numbers of Hale’s standing in front of him, “But I thought you might want a friend.”

            Stiles touched her hand, “Thank you.”

            She lowered her voice, though it likely wasn’t enough to keep the werewolves from hearing her, “Scott wanted to stand with you too.  He’s been arguing with Peter about it most of the morning.”

            Stiles couldn’t help but smile a little, easily finding Scott standing almost sandwiched between Peter and Cora.  There was unhappiness on his face, but he waved.  Stiles waved in return before turning his attention to Talia.  He stepped forward and offered her his hand.

            “Alpha.”

            She shook his hand, “Sheriff.”

            “Peter.”

            Peter offered a ghost of a smile, his skin still a touch too pale, “Sheriff.”

            “Laura.”

            Laura seemed surprised by the greeting, but shook his hand easily, “Sheriff.”  Stiles glanced at Derek briefly, where he stood beside his sister, and something in him eased to see the man was the one holding his talisman. 

            Stiles stepped back and turned his attention to Talia.  “What is your judgment?”

            Talia was quiet for a moment, “I don’t agree with what my daughter did, but I hope we can use this opportunity to permanently fix the strained relationship between our families.  Your grandfather wronged us, in his position as Sheriff and in his position as head of your family.”

            “Yes,” Stiles agreed.  “But his fate will be decided by the courts.  I have no power over him.  He is a clan traitor and is not a part of us anymore.”

            Talia nodded, “We understand that.  Your father wronged us by proxy.”

            “As the head of the family, I will accept whatever restitution you demand so that things may be well between our families.”

            Her expression gentled, “You have not wronged us, Sheriff.  We bare you no ill will.”

            “I am the head of the family,” Stiles said simply.

            Talia sighed, “We have two demands.  The first is your binding vow that your clan will never use magic against us or on us without permission.  The second is that you will ingrain magical protections into the house as it is constructed.”

            “I agree to the second without stipulation, but the first…”

            She was surprised at first, but then her expression hardened, “It is not an unreasonable request.  I’m afraid we cannot compromise.”

            “Very well.”

            Stiles looked at his father hopefully, but he already knew the answer before Joe spoke.  “I’m sorry, son, but I can’t.”

            Stiles took his badge off his jacket and stared at for a long moment.  The pride on his fathers face as he turned it over to him was something he’d never forget.  Stiles had always imagined that he’d feel a similar pride when he turned it over to his own child, but he felt that dream slipping through his fingers.  Such a vow to the Hale’s would go against his Oath as Sheriff.  The badge would make it impossible to give in good faith.  He lifted his gaze and searched through the faces in the Hale pack until his eyes landed on Vernon Boyd.

            “Deputy Boyd, step forward.”

            Boyd seemed stunned by his command, but obediently moved through the rest of the pack until he was standing between him and Talia.  “It has a weight to it, but you should be strong enough to manage it until an election can be called.  The guidelines are written in the city bylaws.”

            It had never entered his imagination that he might be the last of the Stilinski’s to be Sheriff.  It was a position his family had held for generations and that he was the one to lose it was almost as bad as the shame of what his grandfather had done.

            Boyd took a step back when Stiles tried to hand him the badge, “You can’t give me that,” he objected.

            “You’re the most competent of all my deputies,” Stiles disagreed.  “I have no doubt you can manage until a new Sheriff is elected.  I don’t have anyone else to give it to, Boyd.”

            “I don’t understand why you’re resigning your post as Sheriff,” Talia interjected.

            “Your demand violates my Oath as Sheriff.  I can never promise such a thing to anyone.  I cannot give anyone special consideration.”

            “None of us want to see you resign, Sheriff,” Talia said.

            “I cannot understand why you refuse such a vow,” Laura added.  “If your clan truly means us no harm, then why refuse?”

            “You’re not a witch,” Stiles said, “And you don’t understand how this type of magic works.”  The patience left his voice, “And if you think I don’t realize that this is just an attempt to get revenge on my father for ills you perceived he committed against you, then you are very wrong.”

            Talia’s voice hardened as well, “He is guilty by proxy.”

            “You should be grateful this is all we asked for,” Laura snapped, “In compensation for his crimes against us.”

            “There was nothing he could do,” Stiles objected, his voice rising a little.

            “I don’t believe that,” Laura replied.

            Stiles went very still, “Are you calling me a liar?”

            “Laura,” Peter cautioned, but she wasn’t listening.  She was too angry, and if Stiles wasn’t just as angry, he probably would have better understood her perspective.  But her words were like pinpricks, teasing at the shame he already felt.

            “No,” her gaze swept past Stiles and landed and on Joe.  “I’m calling him a liar.”

            “Laura,” Talia snapped.  “We don’t-”

            “I take offense.”

            “Stiles,” Joe objected.  “She’s entitled to her opinion.”

            “Our honor is tainted enough without adding imagined crimes to it,” Stiles interjected. 

            “Imagined crimes!?” Laura bellowed.

            Lydia took a step forward, her eyes narrowed at Laura, “Stop yelling,” she intoned forcefully.  “You are moving beyond the bounds of what is appropriate for this meeting.”

            Stiles turned to face his father and took hold of his hands.  The wrists were the traditional place to find the marks from a spell such as the one Konstany had put on him, but even before he pushed the sleeves back he knew he would not find them.  He’d seen his father with his sleeves rolled up countless times since he was a teenager.  The spell marks weren’t on his wrists.  Which meant…

            “Oh no.  No.”  Somehow, it was even worse than he had imagined. 

            Joe sighed a little, “I didn’t want you to see them, kid.  You’ve always been smart and even as a teenager you would have known what they meant.  I didn’t want you to be afraid.”  With another sigh, Joe unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it down to his elbows.  Stiles caught sight of one mark at his throat, another over his heart, and when he moved behind his father he saw there was also one over his spine at the base of his neck.  The marks were fading, a dull grey where they likely would have been black when Konstany was the head of the family, but it was still the nastiest piece of magic Stiles had never seen.  It had given Konstany the power to stop his heart, stop his breathing, or cut off his control of his limbs at any moment.

            “Did he ever use this on you?”

            Joe hesitated briefly, “Yes.”

            Stiles covered his mouth with his hand, too horrified for words.  At his side, Lydia’s eyes were equally horrified, and Stiles realized that she was probably the only other person present who knew enough about magic to understand how wretched what Konstany had done was.  Except when he glanced at the Hales he saw that Peter and Adam were both starting at Joe in horror and understanding.

            “I’m sorry about what happened,” Joe said, mostly to Laura, “But there was nothing I could have done.  It would have meant my death and there would have been no one to shield Stiles from him.  And the position of Sheriff would have gone to Stiles.  When his grandfather lost it, it tried to go to him even though he wasn’t yet an adult.”

            “What?” Stiles asked in surprise.

            “I grabbed hold of it before it could,” Joe admitted.  “You were too young to manage such magic.  It was too heavy and it would have damaged you.”

            “I-”

            Done with the proceedings, Stiles cut Laura off before she could speak.  “I accept your second demand.  I cannot accept the first.  As compensation for breaking my word to accept your judgment, I therefore must forfeit…. I forfeit my talisman.”

            “Stop,” Derek interjected suddenly, his eyes glowing blue.  “This is too much.”

            “I’m trying to protect us!” Laura objected.

            “Stiles is right,” Derek said quietly.  “You want revenge.  There were other ways to handle this.”

            “You are too invested in finding reasons to forgive and forget,” Laura replied.  “You think you have a chance with him now and you want to take it.  I understand, but-”

            “Believe me,” Derek said coolly.  “You don’t.  But if this is all under the guide of protecting me, then let it stop.  This isn’t what I want.”

            “Do I need to recount the crimes that have been committed against us?” Laura demanded.

            “You don’t,” Derek replied.  “Because I was there for all them.  And unlike you, I was there for the fire and I know what the Sheriff risked to save us.”

            “One good deed doesn’t undo all the crimes Konstany Stilinksi committed against us,” Laura argued.

            Derek’s eyes lingered on Joe for a moment, “If we think we are the only ones he committed crimes against, then we are fooling ourselves.”

            “Derek…”

            Derek shook his head and stepped back to his place amongst the pack. “I’ve said my piece.  I have nothing else to say.”

            Talia sighed, “Your point is acknowledged Derek, nevertheless-”

            Stiles waved his right hand in a circle over his heart and felt his connection to his talisman snap, like a rubber band flicking him in the chest.  An ache spread through his body immediately, but Stiles ignored it.

            “Do with it as you will and may there be peace between us.”

            Stiles resisted the urge to glance at his talisman.  Witches always had a special connection with such items, but Stiles even more so because helping him make it was one of the last things his mother had done before passing away.  Her magic had always been connected to her emotions, happiness primarily, and the last time he had ever heard her laugh was when she laid her own protection into it.

            He was most of the way to his car when he felt his knees begin to shake and only made it the rest of the way because his father and Lydia helped him.  Lydia took the keys from his pocket and pushed at him until he was lying down in the backseat.  No one spoke as Lydia drove the jeep back to Joe’s house.  She helped Joe get him to the couch inside the house.

            “Can I do anything, Stiles?”

            Stiles shook his head, “I’ve had it since I was a child and it’s become interwoven with my magic in many ways.  I just need time to adjust.”

            Lydia looked to Joe for confirmation.  “He’ll be okay,” Joe agreed.  “It’s just a shock to his system.  He needs to rest.”

            But Lydia still seemed reluctant to leave.  Stiles caught her hand, “I’m glad you came.  I felt less alone knowing you were beside me.”

            She smiled a little.  “I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you.”

            Joe walked Lydia to the door and when he returned to the living room he sat on the edge of the coffee table.  “I’m sorry.”

            “Me too,” Stiles admitted.  “But I think it would have hurt worse to give up the badge.  And out of everything they could have asked for, this isn’t the worst possible outcome.”

            Joe nodded slowly, “I know.  Do you want help to make a new one?”

            “Yeah,” Stiles said.  “I’d like that.”

            Joe squeezed his hands, “We’ll start when you’re feeling better.  How about I scourge us up something to eat?”

            “No pizza.”

            Joe smiled, “I was thinking some soup.  Maybe that vegetable soup your mom used to make?  It won’t be the same, but I could try.”

            “That sounds nice, dad,” Stiles agreed.  “Thanks.”

            His father hadn’t been in the kitchen long when there was a knock at the door and Stiles called for them to enter without getting up because he knew who it was.  Scott rushed in, nearly tripping over the coffee table, speaking even before he had reached Stiles.

            “Are you okay?”

            Stiles nodded.

            “I’m so sorry.”

            “It isn’t your fault.”

            “I’m still sorry,” Scott insisted.  “I know how much the talisman meant to you.”

            “Thanks,” Stiles replied.

            “Can I stay for a while?”

            “Yeah, but I might fall asleep,” Stiles warned.

            “I don’t care,” Scott promised.

            Stiles managed to stay awake for a while, long enough at least to smell the soup his father was making, but in the middle of a conversation about Scott’s plans to propose to Allison, Stiles nodded off and didn’t wake until the sun had gone down and his father was placing a bowl of steaming soup on the coffee table before him.  Scott had relocated to the recliner and was happily slurping his own bowl of soup.  Stiles felt slightly less groggy after eating the soup and pushed himself into an upright position.

            “What happened after I left?”

            “Not much.  Some shouting.  Derek refused to speak to anyone and vanished into the woods.  Oh, I almost forgot.”  Scott reached into his pocket and passed a folded piece of paper to Stiles.

            “What is this?”

            Scott shrugged, “Cece asked me to give it to you.”

           

Dear Sherif Stiles

I am glad you are still Sherif, but I am sorry you feel sad about you neckless.  I hope you feel better soon.  Are we still friends?  I hope we are.

From Cecilia Hale

           

            Stiles refolded the letter and placed it in his pocket to hold on to until he could put it with the other one.  Scott raised an eyebrow, but Stiles just shrugged.  “She’s taken a liking to me, I guess.”

            Scott smiled a little in reply.  They chatted idly for a while before Scott left to go home and Stiles went back to sleep without managing to finished his bowl of soup.  Still drained, he took a week off work and left a slightly unhappy Deputy Boyd in charge.  He slept more often than not, but as he got used to the absence of his talisman he started to feel better.  Scott and Lydia visited frequently, and it was from them that he learned that no one had seen Derek since that Sunday afternoon.   Stiles and his father worked to begin making a new talisman, but it didn’t feel right and Stiles attention was halfhearted.

            His father caught him at the door on his first day back and Stiles sighed, “I’ve been eating you out of house and home for like a month.  I’ll head back to my place tonight.”

            “If you want,” Joe said, “But I don’t mind the company.”  He pressed his talisman into Stiles hands.  “It isn’t right for the head of the family to be wandering around without protection.  Just wear it until you’re able to make a new one, okay?”

            It wasn’t the same as his own talisman, but it felt like a warm blanket had been draped over his shoulders and he couldn’t find it in him to object.  “But what about you?”

            He was quiet for a moment, “I still have your grandmother’s.  I’ll wear that for now, okay?”

            “Okay,” Stiles agreed.

            His first day back in the office was a bit rough, mostly because all of his deputies were less than subtle about their concern for him.  Mostly to get away from it, Stiles spent much of the day in his patrol car.  He pulled the car over when he caught sight of Adrian Harris sitting on his front porch.  He had been the only one of them to be let out on bail, the only one could say he honestly hadn’t known what was being planned and that he had no reason to want to see the Hale’s hurt.  He was still likely to be in some trouble for what he’d done, but it would be nothing compared to what happened to the others.

            “Mr. Harris.”

            The older man lit a cigarette and offered the half empty pack to Stiles, seeming utterly unable to manage his usual disdain.  “Stilinski.”

            Stiles accepted a cigarette, but shook his head at the lighter Harris offered and lit it with a tap of his finger.  Harris rolled his eyes, “pretentious showoff.”

            Stiles smiled a little and replied when he ashed the cigarette, “Maybe.”

            “Apparently the Sheriff put in a good word for me.  I probably won’t lose my job,” he commented lightly.

            “The kids of this town are never going to forgive me.”

            Harris snorted, “I still don’t like you.”

            “I don’t like you either,” Stiles replied.  “I think you’re a dick and you did something really fucking stupid, but you shouldn’t go to jail for it.  You should have come to me when it started to go sideways.  Like I said, I think you’re a dick, but you aren’t a murderer.”

            “Didn’t think you’d care,” Harris admitted.  “We’ve never made it a secret that we don’t like each other.”

            “I don’t need to like you to do my job.  I hope nothing ever like this ever happens again, but if something goes wrong I want you to know you can come to me and I will help you.”

            Harris stared at him for a long moment, before nodding.  “I will.”

            “Good,” Stiles stood, “See you around, Mr. Harris.”

            Harris nodded, his expression less loathing than usual.  “Goodbye, Sheriff.”

            Stiles went back to his office for the rest of the day.  His badge nudged at him and Stiles recalled that he had never written the speeding ticket for Scott.  He filled out the paperwork but paid the fine himself before he headed back to his apartment at the end of the day.  The scent of rotten garbage was obvious the moment he entered, and Stiles spent a few minutes cleaning the fridge and taking out the trash before he changed out of his uniform.  Checking his phone as he set about making himself dinner, Stiles replied to his father that his first day back and been fine and congratulated Scott on his engagement to Allison.  The text promised more details later and Stiles couldn’t wait to hear who had managed to pop the question first.

            After dinner he went for a walk and debated with himself about getting a dog.  Stiles had always favored German Shepherds and the idea of a police dog was appealing.  He was thinking about names when he came across Chris Argent on an evening jog and slowed to say hello.

            “Sheriff,” Chris greeted.  “How are you?”

            “Fine, thank you.  Yourself?”

            “Well enough.”  He shook his head, “I feel stupid that I never realized.”

            “Me too,” Stiles agreed.

            “I never thanked you,” Chris said.  “I didn’t understand at first, but I realize what you risked to protect Allison.”

            “It occurred to me early on that the necklace seemed planted.  And I know Allison well enough to know that she would never do that,” Stiles admitted.  “And Kate’s reaction bothered me.  But I was curious why…?”

            “Apparently Allison thought she might be pregnant a couple of months ago,” Chris winced a little, “And she called Kate for advice.  She didn’t realize how bothered Kate was by her relationship with Scott.  It turned out that she wasn’t pregnant, but it brought Kate’s attention back to Beacon Hills and… she was angry.  That we might have a werewolf in the family was more than she could handle, and risking having Allison sent to jail was worth it to keep her away from Scott.”

            Stiles nodded slowly, “Well, at least she can’t hurt anyone else.”

            Chris nodded, “At least.”

            Stiles headed home after bumping into Chris and was slightly taken a back to see Peter Hale waiting for him in the front of his apartment building.  “Is something wrong?”

            “Perhaps,” Peter replied.  “May we speak?”

            “Yes, of course,” Stiles replied.

            “No one has seen Derek since last Sunday.”

            Stiles nodded, “Scott mentioned that.”

            “Right.  So you haven’t seen him?”

            He shook his head, “I’m sorry, I haven’t.”

            Peter sighed, “Very well.  Thank you for your time, Sheriff.”  But Peter didn’t move away, so Stiles remained where he was.

            “Is there something else?”

            “Everything went sideways,” Peter said, “In ways none of us expected or wanted.  We all regret how things were left between us.”

            “I don’t know what to say to that,” Stiles admitted.  “I don’t see that I could have done anything differently.”

            “Perhaps not,” Peter said neutrally, “But we want a good relationship with your family.  We want to be allies, like we were before.”

            “Your niece called my father a liar.”

            “But you said there was peace between us,” Peter corrected.

            “True,” Stiles agreed, “But peace isn’t the same as friendship.”

            Peter tilted his head a little, “Do you want an apology?”

            “No.”

            “Hmm,” Peter seemed surprised by the answer, “What do you want?”

            “I wanted her to understand that the situation was more complicated than she perceived, that my father did what he could.  She’s seen the magic some of us are capable, but it isn’t fair for her to judge my father by that standard.  We aren’t all the same.”

            “She knows that now.  And she regrets what she said.  As does Talia.  We did not treat you as an ally that day, and after what you’ve done for us, you deserved more than that.”

            “I appreciate knowing that.”

            “But?” Peter asked.

            Stiles shrugged, “But nothing.”

            A frustrated sound escaped his lips, “You aren’t making this easy.”

            “Well I’m certainly not trying to make it more difficult,” Stiles insisted.  “But I don’t have an answer for you.”

            “We want to make this better.”

            “I don’t think there is anything you can do.”

            Peter’s shoulders slumped, “I don’t believe it.  I don’t believe that it has to be like this.”

            “I don’t either,” Stiles said, “But between the shock of becoming the head of my family and the loss… the loss of my talisman…I need time.”

            “I am not sad to see Konstany Stilinski behind bars and were it appropriate to congratulation you on your ascension, I would certainly do so.  I know more about magic than the rest of my family, Stiles, and I understand what he did to your father.  I have no doubt that you’ll be far better in the position than he ever was.”

            “Thank you.”

            “I know witches often feel connected to their talismans-”

            “I feel its loss like a limb,” Stiles said bluntly.  “You cannot begin to understand what I feel.”

            “I’m sorry.”

            “As painful as it is, it was well worth it.  I want there to be peace between us.”

            “Just peace?” Peter questioned.

            “And friendship,” Stiles amended.  “But I need time.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It didn't occur to Stiles that no one else had seen Derek in a while

Thanks so much to everyone for reading this and for all the lovely reviews!

[Cast Collage ](http://isa-iadel.tumblr.com/post/64016841885/for-my-story-generations-the-last-chapter-goes)

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**Generations**

**Part Five**

            The clan gathering was far more difficult than Stiles had anticipated.  No one offered any type of protest to his ascension, nearly everyone celebrated it, but it turned out that Joachinek wasn’t the only one Konstany had used his power and magic to hurt and control.  Stiles unwove those spells that hadn’t faded with his grandfather’s removal as head of the family.  His first official act was to break an engagement between his younger cousin, Julie, and a foreign wizard nearly twice her age.  The reaction from the other clan was fierce, but Stiles wasn’t swayed by their threats and eventually they were forced to accept a monetary restitution.  He freed up the clan resources and made books, heirlooms and magical knickknacks that Konstany had kept for himself freely available to anyone who wished to make use of them.  He lifted the travel ban, marital permission, reproduction approval and every other disgusting magically enforced command Konstany had laid on the clan and rewrote the clan Laws to ensure that no head of the family could ever use his or her power against the family ever again.

            By the time everyone left, Stiles was exhausted but the magical boost from their unconditional support had eased much of the ache he still felt from the loss of his talisman.  He felt far more comfortable than he had in weeks after the clan gathering and was surprised to find that his father actually seemed even more uneasy than before.

            “What’s bothering you?”

            Joe sighed, “I was hoping he might have mentioned to one of them what his plans were for you.  I don’t like not knowing”

            “He doesn’t have any power over us.”

            “I know,” Joe agreed.  “But still.  I wish we knew.”

            Stiles spent most of his free time with his father, starting and abandoning a series of replacement talismans.  At first he thought he was simply being too finicky, but none of them spoke to him they way his first one had and he was unable to actually finish any of them.  He spent the rest of his free time trying to orchestrate situations where he might bump into Derek Hale, but nearly a month had passed since judgment and he hadn’t once seen the other man.  He’d seen other members of the pack around, and with the exception of Scott and the ones he worked with, they’d all respected his need to for time and offered him only polite, but fleeting greetings whenever they met him.  Adam had paused longer than any of the others, repeating his previous offer of conversation that made much more sense than it had previously, and Stiles thanked him and promised to take him up on it sometime in the future.

            When he finally could take it no more, when the position of head of the family had settled and the hurt from the loss of his talisman had eased into something that no longer kept him up at night, Stiles steeled his resolve and set about trying to meet Derek.  Yet even when he was intentionally looking for him instead of just hoping to bump into him, Stiles still could not find him.

            When he received a request from Talia via Scott to come lay the magical protections he had promised into the foundation of the new house, Stiles arranged to do so immediately.  He brought his father with him because such castings were always done in pairs, but spent most of the time trying to catch a glimpse of Derek among the members of the pack working on the construction.

            Joe smacked the back of his head in a gentle rebuke, “Pay attention, kid.  If you drop your end of the spell, we’ll have to start over.”

            Stiles huffed, but refocused his attention.  They laid spells to protect against malice, but added further protections that the clan did not generally make use of outside of their own members.  Stiles smeared a drop of his blood along the foundation and smiled briefly when the shell of the building glowed briefly.  Surprise flashed across Joe’s face briefly.

            “You don’t do things by half.”

            “What did you do?”

            Stiles turned, stiffening a little when he caught sight of Laura, but he answered her easily.  “If anyone who bears you ill will comes onto your property, you’ll know.”

            Laura’s eyes rested on Joe, “It takes two of you to do this?”

            “Such magic is traditionally cast in pairs,” Joe said, “To strengthen it.”

            “I thought you weren’t much of a witch.”

            Stiles gaped at her, but his biting response was cut off by Joe’s far calmer one.  “I’m not.”  He rolled his eyes when Stiles continued to look affronted, “I’m aware of how powerful I am, Stiles.  This isn’t news to me.”  He looked back to Laura, “Stiles did the majority of the casting.  He’s probably powerful enough that he could have done it alone.”

            “Then why did you come with him?”

            At first the question further upset Stiles, but the tone of her voice was more honest curiosity then accusation and so he did not interrupt.

            “Like I said, its traditionally done in pairs.”

            “And I’ve never actually done something like this before,” Stiles added.  “He might not be much of a witch,” Stiles couldn’t help the tone he took as he repeated the phrase she’d used, “But he knows a lot about this kind of thing and I wanted him here to make sure I did everything correctly.” 

            “And?” Laura asked, because it seemed like that was still something they weren’t sharing.

            Joe shrugged, “I thought this might help show you that I bear your family no ill will.  That I regret what happened and I hope I can help prevent anything like that from happening again.”

            Laura’s mouth opened in surprise, “I- I owe you an apology.”

            There was a moment when Stiles wanted to interrupt.  How could it be so easy for his father to forgive her after everything she’d said and done?  It would be so easy to let the words slip out of his mouth, but Stiles remained quiet because she wasn’t he one he was apologizing too.  His father had enough of his free choice hampered by Konstany, and Stiles never wanted to follow in his footsteps.  It wasn’t his decision if his father chose to forgive Laura.

            “I accept.  Thank you,” Joe replied after a moment.

            Laura turned her gaze towards Stiles, “You as well.  I spoke hastily because I was angry, but also because I was scared.  I’d never even really seen much magic until he-”  She shook her head.  “And I’m sorry about your talisman.  We thought our demands were reasonable, things we would have asked for anyway, and it would easily settle everything between us.  Can you forgive me?”

            “Did you destroy it?”

            Laura tilted her head a little, “What?”

            “I assumed that it would go to Talia, or maybe even Cecilia.  But I haven’t seen anyone wearing it.  Did you destroy it?”

            “No,” She said quietly.  “Of course not.”

            “Then where is it?”

            The reply came from Talia as she stepped up to stand behind Laura.  “Derek has it.  He was upset after what happened and he refused to let anyone take it from him.”  She studied the Stilinski men for a moment, “I too owe both of you an apology.”

            Stiles was quiet for a moment.  His father touched his elbow and nodded, leaving Stiles to speak for both of them.  “There is peace between us.”

            “Is that all?” Talia asked.  “We would call you an ally, Stiles.  We would call your family friends.  Have we lost that right?”

            Stiles shook his head, “No.”  Because despite his hurt, he didn’t truly hate either one of them.  Most of his anger had faded with his hurt and he preferred to move forward to something better between their families than continue to suffer the consequences of his grandfather’s misdeeds.  And the thought of how much friendship between the pack and the clan would angry the old man might also have helped Stiles make a decision.

            “No,” he said after a moment.  “So much of what he did was to keep us apart and I’m not going to give that asshole that satisfaction of knowing that he succeeded.  And I understand that magic can be frightening.  I don’t want you or anyone in your pack to be afraid of me or my clan.”

            “We aren’t,” Talia assured him.

            “If anything like this ever happens again, will you please just talk to me?” Stiles asked, his gaze mostly pinned on Laura.

            “I promise.”

            Stiles took a deep breath, “Then I forgive you.”  And as he said the words, he found that they were truer than he had intended them.

            Laura’s shoulders dropped and she nodded, “Thank you.”  She took a step closer and held up two water bottles that neither of the Stilinski’s had noticed she was holding.  “Thirsty?”

            “Thank you,” Joe took both of the water bottles and tossed one to Stiles. 

            By the end of the day, they had managed to finish all the protections Stiles planned to lay on the foundation, but there had still been no sign of Derek.  He was quiet as they left, deep in thought, and didn’t speak on the drive home until the jeep pulled into his father’s driveway.

            “Do you think he’s mad at me?”

            “I was surprised that we didn’t see him,” Joe admitted.  “But I can’t imagine why he would be mad at you.”

            “He asked if he could talk to me after judgment and I said yes… I mean I didn’t think he’d come straight away, but…”

            “So don’t wait for him to come to you.  Go to him.”

            The next day Stiles found himself going through the schools on his annual round of safety talks and during one of his speeches he found himself staring at a pair of familiar dark eyes.  When their gazes met, Cecilia waved at him with such enthusiasm that she nearly smacked the child sitting next to her.  The moment the lecture was over, she ignored her teacher and weaved through all of the other children to give Stiles a hug.

            “Hi, Sheriff.”

            Stiles returned the hug, lifting her briefly, “Hey, Cece.  How are you?”

            “I’m okay,” she said.  “How are you?”

            “Good, thank you.”

            Yet she remained close to him, her hands clenched from the effort of not grabbing onto him, and her eyes were wide.  She again ignored her teacher’s call for her to return to the group and Stiles waved at the woman to give them a moment.  He dropped to his knees to meet her gaze and caught her hands from where she had begun to anxiously twist the edge of her t-shirt.

            “Cece?”

            “Scott said you got my note and that we were still friends, but Mama said everyone needed time.  She told everyone to leave you alone until you were ready to talk to us and didn’t feel so sad anymore.”  She was quiet for a moment.  “I don’t hear like a wolf, but sometimes I think Mama doesn’t realize that I can still hear things.  I heard her talking.”

            “Cece-”

            “She thought she what she was asking for was easy.  She thought you’d say yes and it wouldn’t be a problem for anyone and everything would be ok.  Mama didn’t understand about magic and oaths and vows and stuff.  Neither did Laura.  But afterwards Uncle Peter told her about magic and stuff, cause he has a friend who’s a witch-wolf…” A look of horror spread across her features.

            Stiles felt his expression change to mirror hers, “Cece…”

            “I shouldn’t have said that!”

            Stiles had, of course, heard of witch-wolves before but he’d never before heard anyone admit to knowing one.  They were, perhaps unfairly, rather universally regarded as something similar to the bogeyman.  They were rare for several reasons, mostly prominently because biting a witch likely meant death both for the witch but also for the biting Alpha.  Those who survived tended to be irrevocably altered, not entirely right, and unable to control either the wolf or the magic.  Even those who didn’t lose their minds during the process tended to be extremely dangerous and were often highly sought after by less reputable packs.

            Cece wrapped her hands around his wrist, “Please don’t tell anyone.  I’m not even supposed to know about him, but Isaac needed a place to stay when he was hiding and I saw him with Uncle Peter.  He’s not bad!  I promise.”

            Stiles held up this hand, “It’s okay, Cece, but its probably better if I don’t know anymore.  I can’t tell anyone anything I don’t know, okay?”

            “Okay,” she replied meekly.

            He sighed, “Look, Cece, I did talk to your mom and sister.  Your mom was right about everyone needing time, but things are getting better.  Derek and I will talk, I promise, but not until he’s ready.”

            “No one has seen Derek since the day you lost your necklace.”

            Stiles gaped at her, “But…but that was weeks ago!”

            “Except I saw him once.  He came to see me at recess and brought me a cupcake and told me he was sorry that he couldn’t pick me up from school anymore.  He said he needed to be alone for a while.  But it’s been a really long time and Mama won’t let me go into the woods to try to find him.  I’m not a wolf, but I know all of Derek’s favorite places because he showed me!”

            “Cece, your mom is right.  You shouldn’t go wandering around the woods by yourself.”

            She looked at him hopefully, “Will you take me?”

            He hesitated, “If your brother wants to be alone-”

            “Laura says he just wants to be alone with his broody manpain, but I know he’s just sad because he thinks you don’t like him.  But I know that you do, so I want to help you find him so you can tell him.  I don’t want him to live in the woods anymore because I miss him and Laura doesn’t do all the voices right when she reads me stories.  She’s makes Hermione sound snotty.”

            Stiles resisted the urge to smile at Cece’s affronted expression at Laura’s failure to read her the story correctly.  He tugged on her braid, “Tell you what, why don’t I go look for Derek and if I can’t find him…I’ll come talk to you and if your mom says its okay then we can go look for him together.”

            Cece nodded, “Okay.”

            That Derek had been in the woods this entire time was a possibility Stiles felt stupid that he had never even considered.  And it bothered him.  He couldn’t understand why Derek was hiding in the preserve, but that thought of him alone and away from his family left Stiles uneasy.  Derek was perhaps the least guilty person in everything that had happened and he didn’t deserve to be unhappy.  Stiles still wasn’t entirely sure that he knew how to make him happy, but he wanted to try.   His desire to see how things might develop between them surged, his magic reacted, and Stiles knew he had to find the other man immediately.

 Stiles called in one of his deputies to do the rest of the speeches and armed with only a bottle of water, he entered the preserve and walked down one of the less used paths until he was miles away from the town.  His link with his talisman was broken, but as he got deeper into the woods he felt a sort of awareness of where it was.  It ended up being far easier to find Derek than he had imagined, though he was almost unrecognizable. 

He wore something that had probably once been jeans, though they were ripped and stained beyond recognition.  His face and hands were caked his dirt, his beard longer than Stiles had ever seen it and his hair absolutely wild.  He said something when Stiles approached, but did nothing but blink as Stiles gently cajoled him out of the woods.  He brought the silent man to his apartment, sneaking him through the back entrance, and gently maneuvered him in the direction of the bathroom.

Stiles pressed a towel into his hand and turned on the shower, adjusting the water until he was comfortably warm.

“Go on.”

But Derek only blinked at him in reply.

Stiles exhaled slowly, unable to look away from his gaze, “Derek?  Should I have brought you to the hospital?  Or to the Alpha?”

“No.”

The reply startled Stiles even though he’d been hoping for a response, because the sound of his voice was rough from disuse, but his tone was empty.  Coupled with the lack of his expression on his face, worry spread through Stiles and that seemed to catch Derek’s attention at least because he inhaled deeply and frowned.

“How about a shower?” Stiles finally managed.

Derek stepped closer to the shower, pausing only to unwind the talisman from around his wrist.  Despite how filthy he was, the talisman was pristine, and Derek set it at the edge of the sink before stepping into the shower without bothering to take off what remained of his pants.  Stiles stared at the talisman, startled into leaving the bathroom by the sound of Derek opening the bottle of body wash.

He sat on his couch with his phone in his hand for a while before stepping out onto his small balcony to call Scott, half hoping Derek wouldn’t be able to overhear the conversation while he was in the shower.

“Sup?”

“Why didn’t you tell me Derek hadn’t come home yet?”

“Ah.”  Scott was quiet for a minute.  “Who broke down and told you?”

“Cece.”

“Hm.  The Alpha told everyone not to tell you.”

“But why?” Stiles demanded.

“Because he isn’t in any danger, Stiles.  He’s a werewolf.  He can handle himself.”

“He shouldn’t be living in the woods by himself,” Stiles argued.

“People process grief in different ways.”

“Grief?” Stiles demanded.

“Derek held on for fifteen years.  Obviously I didn’t know the whole story until after Arbitration, but he had hope for fifteen years that things would change between the two of you somehow.  After judgment he…”

“He what?”

“He lost hope.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Stiles,” Scott said gently.  “He gave up.  Shit.  I’m not explaining this well.  When one of my kind gives up hope of ever having their mate…it isn’t good.  It was better for him to try and deal with this on his own.”

“So you all just let him go off into the woods to do what?  To die?”

“Not to die,” Scott objected.  “But to come to terms with it.  It was better for him to get a handle on his emotions.  Wolves in his situation can be…volatile.”

"And you didn’t think I’d want to know this?  You didn’t think I’d want to help him.”

“Stiles,” Scott spoke slowly, his tone thoughtful, “None of this is your fault.  You aren’t responsible for his well-being.  He isn’t your obligation and you don’t owe him anything.  He’ll be okay, he just needs time.  That’s why no one said anything to you, they didn’t want you to feel pressured you to accept against your will.  You aren’t mated to him and you don’t ever have to be.”

“We aren’t mated yet,” Stiles snapped.

“Whoa, what?” Scott demanded.  “I thought you didn’t want him?”

“Why does everyone think that?  I never said anything like that.”

“So you do love him?” Scott asked eagerly.

“No,” Stiles said.  “I mean, not yet.  But…my magic likes him and that means something. I’m going to fix this,” Stiles said.  “Maybe I would have taken it a little slower, gotten to know him better, but I’d being lying if I said I ever saw this ending any other way.  Come on, dude.  Remember how I used to follow him around the library in high school?  This has always been what I wanted, everything was just got fucking complicated I didn’t know how to get us here.”

“He’ll come out of the woods when he’s ready, Stiles.  Short of tracking him down yourself-  Oh.  You already found him, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“How is he?”

“He doesn’t seem hurt, he just seems….sort of robotic.  He’ll be okay, right?”

“He’ll snap out of it,” Scott said.

“Will you tell the Alpha he’s here?  I don’t want them to be worried about him.”

“Sure,” Scott agreed.  “Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will.  Thanks, buddy.”

Stiles went back into his apartment.  He grabbed a pair of sweats and a t-shirt from his bedroom and left them in the bathroom for Derek.  He was contemplating the contents of his fridge and what Derek might like to eat when the other man stepped out of the bathroom and cleared his throat quietly.

He looked better clean and dressed, but his beard still looked like that of a man who lived deep in the mountains.  Derek took a few steps closer when Stiles met his gaze, but his expression remained blank.  Stiles remember the smile he had worn when he’d given him flowers and hated that his face was so divorced that.

“Feel better?”

“I suppose.”  Derek frowned a little and rubbed his beard, “But this is probably a bit much.”

“So shave it,” Stiles suggested.  “There is stuff behind the mirror in the bathroom.”

Derek disappeared back into the bathroom after a curt nod and Stiles decided on pancakes.  He’d finished a heaping stack for both of them by the time Derek returned, his face smooth but still foreign in how non-expressive it was.  Derek took a seat when Stiles gestured for him to.  His expression when Stiles placed the pancakes in front of him was slightly puzzled, but after a moment he lifted his fork and knife and dug into the food with relish.  He was about halfway finished his pancakes when he looked up, cleared his throat, and spoke in a slightly less raspy voice.

“You smell guilty and worried.”

“I feel guilty because I just assumed you were avoiding me, not avoiding everyone, and I should have taken a more proactive approach into making sure you were okay.  I hate that it took Cece to get me to go find you.  I should have tracked you down when you didn’t come see me after judgment.  And I’m worried because you don’t seem okay and I- I want you to be okay.”

Derek tilted his head a little, “You spoke to Cece?”

“She misses you.”

“She has Laura and Cora.  It’s better that I’m not around her like this.”

“You’re her favorite.”

Derek lifted an eyebrow at the statement, “Sure.”

Stiles shook his head at Derek before disappearing into his bedroom briefly, returning with the first note Cecilia had ever written him.  Derek’s eyes widened as he read the note and before he finished, his cheeks were red with embarrassment.  “I can’t believe she gave this to you.”

“Can’t you? She’s the most precocious kid I’ve ever met.”

Derek smiled fondly at the words, “I suppose she is.  You saw her?”

“Earlier today.”

“And she’s okay?”

“Aside from suffering Laura’s inadequate attempt to do Hermione’s voice while reading Harry Potter, she seems fine,” Stiles assured him.

Derek nodded.

“Derek.”

The other man met his gaze evenly, “Yes?”

“Please go home.  Don’t hide out in the woods any longer.”

He nodded after a moment, “I will.”  He lowered his fork and knife.

Stiles jumped to his feet when Derek rose from his chair, “I didn’t mean this instant.”

“I should get out of your space.”

Derek ran his hands through his hair and Stiles’ gaze was drawn to the talisman he had rewrapped around his wrist after his shower.  The hurt was more emotional than physical, but if he couldn’t have it then at least Derek had it.

“You should wear that around your neck.”

“No.”

“It’s more powerful the closer it is your heart.”

“I haven’t the right.  This should never have been taken from you.”

“No one took it.  I gave it freely,” Stiles objected.

“Because we backed you into a corner, but I saw your face when you gave it up and it was awful.  I hate that I have it, but I couldn’t bear to let anyone else keep it either.”

Stiles moved around the table, closing the distance between them, and unwound the talisman from Derek’s wrist.  Ignoring his sound of surprise, Stiles easily looped the necklace around Derek’s neck.  The moment his fingers touched the amulet, the magic from it sunk into Stiles like dozens of little tethers.  Stiles unhooked all over them, redirecting the magic to Derek.  He pressed the amulet to Derek’s chest, directly over his heart.

“Protect him.”

The amulet heated briefly, nearly burning his hand, before abruptly cooling.  Stiles released the amulet, letting the talisman settle against the center of Derek’s chest, and avoided his gaze as he took a small step back.  “I grant you the protection of my clan.”

Derek exhaled sharply.

“You have to wear it like this.  If you don’t, you’ll be spitting in the face of-”

Derek stepped forward and caught Stiles in his arms in a single, fluid move, kissing him deeply.  Stiles completely forgot whatever he had been about to say as he buried his hands in Derek’s hair to return the kiss.

“I wanted it so bad,” Derek admitted between hurried kisses.  “I used to fantasize about this, only when I had it I felt awful because you hadn’t actually given it to me.  I didn’t want it, but I couldn’t let anyone else have it and I couldn’t get rid of it.”

“Promise me you won’t take it off.”

“I promise,” Derek agreed.

They crashed into nearly every object in their path to Stiles bedroom.  Stiles struggled with the buttons on his uniform as Derek continued to kiss him.

“You know what it means when a Witch gives you as talisman, right?”

“I can feel your magic hovering over my skin and it feels like sunlight.  It’s to protect me.”

“No, wait,” Stiles turned his face to avoid another kiss.

“It isn’t to protect me?”

“It’s more than that.  I mean, do you know what it means an a Witch gives you _their own_ talisman?” Stiles amended.  “It’s different than if I just gave you one I happened to make.”

“I heard its something of a courting gesture,” Derek admitted.  “Which is why I used to dream about you giving this to me when I-”

“When you what?”

Derek exhaled slowly, “When I marked you.”

“You mark your mates with your teeth?”

Derek nodded, “But you know I can’t turn you, right?  It won’t do that.  And neither will my mother.  Not ever.  And it won’t hurt.  I wouldn’t hurt you.”  He shifted at Stiles’ incredulous expression.  “I’ll try to make it hurt as little as possible.  I mean… I would try. If we… if we did that.  If, uh, if you wanted me to do that.  I would try to be as gentle as possible.”

Stiles tapped the talisman, “Its more than a courting gesture.  It’s a promise.”

Stiles didn’t understand Derek’s expression.  It was a cross between gob smacked and elated.  Derek cupped his face gently, no sign of the claws that had been threatening to erupt while they kissed, and he rubbed Stiles’ cheeks gently with the pads of his thumbs.

“Really?”

“This is how I want things to be between us,” Stiles said.  “I want you to wear that.”

“I will,” Derek promised again.

“And I want you to bite me.  Not now.  But… when we’re ready.”

“I will,” Derek agreed.  “But we need the moon for a mating bite and it can wait.”

Stiles let his eyes drift closed and nodded in agreement, “It can wait.”

Derek lifted him easily and settled them both on the bed.  Stiles opened his eyes just as Derek kissed him again.

“I’m sorry,” Stiles whispered.

“None of that,” Derek whispered back to him.  “Neither of us have anything to apologize for.  I mean for us to begin as we mean to go on.  There shouldn’t be any guilt between us, okay?”

Stiles nodded, “Okay.”

As fervent as their kisses had been before, Stiles was suddenly exhausted.  He drifted off the sleep, curled up against Derek’s warmth.  He roused himself a little when he felt Derek press a kiss to his forehead.

“Going somewhere?” Stiles murmured.

“No,” Derek replied easily, shifting to pull more of the blanket over them.  “I’m not going anywhere.”

 

* * *

THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL.  I'm going to write it for NANOWRIMO, which begins next month.  I'll probably be posting updates to Keira Marcos [Rough Trade](http://www.roughtrade.org/), so you can read it there if you like.  Otherwise I'll polish it up in early December and post it here.  
  
[Spoilers](http://isa-iadel.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> 10-31 is a crime in progress  
> 10-4 is message received  
> 10-70 is a fire  
> 10-32 person with a gun


End file.
